U.S. senators urge utility to keep IT jobs onshore

[OhioChick]

Source: ComputerWorld

Reports that the National Grid may outsource jobs draws fire from Schumer, Gillibrand
By Patrick Thibodeau
January 7, 2010 05:12 PM ET

Computerworld - New York's two U.S. senators say that National Grid, a major Northeast utility, is considering outsourcing as many as 1,200 jobs -- including many in IT -- to an offshore vendor, and they're urging the company to keep those jobs in the U.S.

This is a political push that may have broader implications in the H-1B and offshore outsourcing debate because of the involvement of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). He is spearheading comprehensive immigration reform via his role as head of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security. The legislation, still being written, is expected to address the H-1B visa.

The other senator urging National Grid not to outsource high-paying jobs is Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, (D-N.Y.), who released a letter this week to Tom King, president of the National Grid USA, urging him to keep the jobs in the U.S. In her letter, Gillibrand cited reports that the company "may outsource as many as 1,200 of its Northeast jobs," including those in New York, to "overseas vendors." Many of the jobs are IT related, including software programming and computer networking, she wrote.

"Considering the current economic climate, it is very disconcerting to hear that any company would consider outsourcing its jobs overseas," wrote Gillibrand, "It is even more upsetting to know that a company who made $1.43 billion in profits last year would look for ways to increase profits even further at the expense of its employees and quality of service," she said. Schumer followed up Gillbrand's letter with news conference today in front of a National Grid office in Syracuse.

Read more: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9143338/U.S._senators_urge_utility_to_keep_IT_jobs_onshore

[Hello_Kitty]

1. Utilities should not be allowed to outsource at all. Outrageous. eom

[daleo]

8. Agreed

A utility is a regulated local monopoly by definition. Applying the paradign of cheapest labor cost global competition makes no sense. It's like outsourcing school teachers or police.

[FreakinDJ]

2. We need a TAX for that

no more deducting the cost as a business expense

[tomm2thumbs]

3. like that idea - no deductions for outsourced expenses +1

and taxes if that isn't enough to change their minds

[w4rma]

4. Talk is cheap. Pass a a strong law with no loopholes. (nt)

[OhioChick]

12. Agreed. n/t

[tabbycat31]

13. +1

[randomelement]

5. Yep - nothing to worry about here

Electricity to 3.3 million customers - gas to 3.4 million ..... oh hell yeah - shouldn't be any national security issues involved with handing off the software to "overseas vendors".

Anything, and I mean ANYTHING to make a f*cking buck

[ChromeFoundry]

7. Yeah, I'm sure that offshoring the grid

won't threaten our citizens safety. You can't even see electricity... can't be that important. :sarcasm:

[CatholicEdHead]

14. So true

All it takes is one sub-contractor over in India to cause lots of domestic issues. The ROI does not work in this case as the risk of someone in India subverting the system from afar are much higher than the money saved by paying US wages for your own IT department.

[earcandle]

6. Arent' utiilities supposed to be publicly owned. Monopoly? Corp are picking our carcasses apart.

What to do? What to DO? 

Not all corps, mind you.

Small business is fine.  Its the big guys
who are destroying our wages and our culture. 

[on point]

9. Falling wages = falling house prices

If we have to compete with over seas wages then our cost of living in this country will have to fall too. And that means house prices will have to equal those of the third world.

[DarthDem]

10. Good Work By Both NY Senators

They're good members of Congress. I wasn't sure about Gillibrand at first, but she has really impressed me. And as someone who helped via the ballot box in the little effort to install Chuck Schumer over the disgustingly corrupt Alfonse D'Amato, I've always liked him. Love the press conference and its location.

[naaman fletcher]

11. What is needed is government policy change

to make it hard for this to happen. Once everyone is doing it, it is not really fair, nor is it going to work to pick a few cases here and there to bitch about it. If everyone is doing it, everyone else has to do it. This is why change is needed on the political level in the form of taxes or regulations.