So much for working at the “happiest place on earth”: in January, Disney laid off hundreds of employees–and replaced them with cheaper foreign workers, who have temporary H-1B “guest worker” visas.
And worse, Disney isn’t the only one.
In fact, increasing numbers of companies nationwide are stepping up to the plate to can American workers, and replace them with temporary workers here on those H-1B visas.
So far, the H-1B program–which brings educated guest workers to American shores for a term of three to six years–is killing off so many American jobs that Congress has begged Obama to investigate the problems with this program.
So far, Obama has refused every single time.
H-1B foreign guest workers are, by their very nature, substantially less expensive than American workers–both because they’re regulated differently and, because these workers require a work visa to come to the country in the first place, are far more likely to take the same job at a lower salary. Which means more money for corporate profit.
Ron Hira, a professor at Howard University who has testified before Congress on the importance of protecting American jobs, explains what the problem is:
“H-1B guest workers are cheaper than American workers and… any company would be foolish not to take advantage of this highly lucrative business model that has been inadvertently created by Congress and multiple presidential administrations,” Hira explains. “Of course, this business model is paid for by destroying the livelihoods and dignity of tens of thousands of American workers. The costs are also borne by American taxpayers, through foregone tax revenue and the additional social services that need to be provided for those newly unemployed American workers.”
This problem’s only getting worse, as more and more companies see that they can save money by bringing foreign workers to America to take foreign jobs.
Which, apparently, is just the way Obama likes it.
