Retired engineer has seen this play out before
Re “Trump gets it right on skilled worker visas’’ (Editorial, Dec. 31): The issue of H-1B visas is not new to this retired engineer. It has been around for decades. About 20 to 30 years ago, I would occasionally see help-wanted ads in the monthly magazine of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for positions requiring high levels of educational and professional attainment while offering mid-level or lower salaries. US readers knew the ads were not aimed at us.
By emphasizing that there are far too few “people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA,’’ Elon Musk makes clear that while US engineers may have the skills, most won’t be “motivated’’ to give up having a life in order to work 80-hour weeks.
What’s more, a quick Google search tells me that at least some controversy remains surrounding whether employers continue to find work-arounds of the regulations that require H-1B holders to be paid at “prevailing’’ wage levels.
By now, the Globe should know to at least wonder what it’s missing when using the words “Trump gets it right’’ in a headline.
Rick Schrenker
North Reading
Program creates two separate tracks of workers
I’ve worked with many H-1B visa holders over many years as a software engineer, and they’re no different from any other software engineer I’ve ever worked with except for one thing: They’re stuck working at the company that hired them. An H-1B who quits or gets let go has a brief grace period to find a new sponsor or they risk deportation. This in turn lowers their wages, because they can’t shop their talents around as freely as, say, I could; however, the wages at which they work in turn depress the wages I’m offered.
My ancestors became citizens roughly at the cost of raising their hands. I don’t see why we shouldn’t keep doing that instead of cherry-picking immigrants by value and skill level.
Keith Page
Malden
What about unskilled workers, who keep our service economy running?
Your editorial “Trump gets it right on skilled worker visas’’ pointed out that President-elect Donald Trump has supported H-1B visas, the kind that bring skilled, mostly tech workers to the United States. However, that is only part of the story. One of the qualifications of an effective chief executive is to have — wait for it — strong executive skills. That means being able to weigh several options and solve more than one problem. While H-1B visas, though controversial within the Republican Party, seem to be looked upon more favorably, visas for unskilled workers are viewed by the GOP with widespread scorn.
So I have to ask: If undocumented and possibly some documented immigrants are going to be deported in large numbers beginning on day one of the new administration, who exactly is going to work the long hours and do the jobs they are now doing so capably, in the delivery of goods and services, in food processing and preparation, in construction, and especially in the health care and human services industry? Who is going to take care of our parents and grandparents, our young children, and people of all ages with disabilities? What is the plan?
Naomi Angoff Chedd
Brookline
Internal ‘tension’ won’t weaken GOP, but a bolder Democratic Party would
It didn’t take long for an obvious contradiction in the Republican Party: Elon Musk, an adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, supports the expansion of H-1B visas while the broader MAGA movement opposes them. Now there is “tension.’’ But here’s my plea to the American media: Do not report this as if it signals the decline of MAGA, the weakening of the Republican Party, or a resurgence of the Democratic Party. It doesn’t— and it won’t.
MAGA will weather this issue, and Trump voters will remain loyal. If this “tension’’ had arisen before the election, it wouldn’t have changed the outcome. Trump’s victory hinged on his ability to connect with working-class voters through clear and direct messaging. Immigration debates like this may capture media attention, but they will not erode Trump’s base.
The only way that happens is if Democrats take bold, dramatic action on key issues such as raising the minimum wage, strengthening labor rights, promoting fair trade, border reform, securing jobs, expanding health care, and making education affordable. The more aggressive, progressive, and ambitious the ideas, the better. Bold ideas are what the American people want. Report that when it happens.
Joshua Cooper Lappin
Sandwich
The writer is a small-business owner.
