Stop Off Shoring!

Immediate Actions You can Take

What can one person do?

As a lone individual, you may feel there is little you can do. However, if we act together as a group, we can bring much more attention to this issue and bring pressure on our elected officials and on IBM. The more of us that are taking actions, the stronger we will be. Please enlist your coworkers and friends and encourage them to take actions along with you.

This list of what you can do is only a start. There will be more news and calls to action to come. Please join the Alliance to stay current with all news and calls to action. Memberships are confidential; IBM will not know you are a member.

There are 3 fronts on which we are taking immediate action: Legislative, Direct Action, and Organizing and Outreach.

Legislative

Write your elected officials (sample letters are available on the Alliance web site). Print a copy of the Offshoring Fact sheet and mail it with your letter. Ask them to support legislation which will:

1. Ban H1-B and L1 visa’s. These visa’s were created back when there was a serious shortage in the US for high tech workers. Now with a recession and with high unemployment in the tech sector, U.S. companies should not have to import foreign workers to fill the “gap”.

2. Broaden the Worker Adjustment Act beyond manufacturing employees to include high tech workers – programmers, knowledge workers, engineers, etc. This federal act allows replaced employees receive monetary benefits for training in another field.

The Alliance@IBM will be working with several pro-worker legislators to draft legislation that will require US companies to disclose plans to move jobs abroad, and offer either incentives and/or penalties for such. We will alert all our supporters as soon as this is ready for you to take action on.

Direct Action

1. Write to Sam Palmisano, CEO of IBM. Tell him what you think!

Sam Palmisano, CEO, IBM Corporation
New Orchard Road
Armonk, New York 10504

2. Write to your University, particularly their Computer Science, Engineering and related departments, as well as their Job Placement office to alert them of this trend. Send a copy to Sam Palmisano.

3. Participate in the upcoming National Day of Action. Get on the Alliance mailing list by becoming a subscriber and find out what we will do and when.

4. We are drafting a Stockholder Resolution to be introduced for next year, to bring attention to IBM’s practices to its Shareholders. There will be a future alert when it comes time to vote shares.

5. Join with us in future actions, such as a single day of emailing Congress. Get on the Alliance mailing list by becoming a subscriber and find out what we will do and when.

Organizing and Outreach

1. Most of us have a home PC with emails of our friends and family. Get them involved! Make a distribution list of all of them and forward them the “Calls to Action” that you receive from the Alliance.

2. Not everyone is inclined to be an organizer, but if you have an interest in leading a particular effort, we need volunteers to run smaller groups and get others involved. Retirees, the Legislative Committee, coordinating actions with other unions – there are many areas where you can make a huge difference. Talk to us about the possibilities and see what fits you and your interest.

3. Contact at least two other employees or friends on a regular basis – alert them to this issue and tell them there is much they can do to help. Ask them to become Alliance subscribers and to take part in the calls to action and the National Day of Action.

“None of us is as Strong as All of Us”

The Alliance@IBM does not condone discrimination against anyone of other nations and cultures. We believe all workers world-wide should have basic rights, such as safety on the job, protection from employer discrimination, protection from employer exploitation, and the right to organize and form unions to improve workplace standards.