Hello, my name is Garrett Lanzy, and I am a former national Vice-President of Alliance@IBM/CWA Local 1701.

Alliance@IBM formed in 1999 in reaction to the cash-balance pension changes that IBM attempted to force upon most of the company's employees. However, we quickly discovered that there were many other issues facing workers within IBM and other 'high tech' companies - changes resulting from employers trying to rewrite the 'social contract' which had existed between governments, employers, and workers in the U.S. throughout the latter half of the 20th century.

Unfortunately, this breakdown has continued and accelerated in the new century with the practice of 'offshoring'. In some sense, this is a practice that came into play 20 years ago in the manufacturing sector - but with the move to high-tech and white-collar jobs, the stakes have changed. In the past, workers who have seen their jobs go overseas were told that 'retraining' was the key, and federal legislation such as the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act provided programs and funding to do so. However, the federal Department of Labor has ruled that programmers and software engineers are not eligible for these benefits because we do not produce a 'tangible' product. (Several lawsuits have been filed recently to challenge this ruling).

But is retraining really the answer? Most of the people losing jobs as a result of 'offshoring' are already highly-educated professionals - people with advanced college degrees in technical and business fields, with skills that until very recently were considered 'highly sought'. And it is clear that the demand for these skills has not really gone away, since the work is still going to be performed - just elsewhere. U.S. companies are consistently bemoaning the lack of skilled employees available in some fields, but what message are they sending to teenagers and college students when these same jobs are sent overseas? Why would anyone want to spend 4 to 8 years in college getting education in a field where there is little or no chance of holding a lifelong career?

I've also seen the personal anguish which offshoring can cause. Alliance@IBM regularly receives calls and e-mails from IBM employees who have been told that their jobs are going away - and to add insult to injury, they are being told that they have to train their replacements (in another company) before they leave. (Why would someone do this? Because companies are holding their severance pay 'hostage' if they refuse to do so.) Indeed, an IBM 'Human Resources' conference call last year identified this practice as a 'sensitive' issue, but HR employees were told that they must find ways to make sure this happens.

Offshoring also hurts the communities where we live, since the income and benefits previously earned by employees is no longer available. Many times, these people go from being productive, tax-paying citizens to being dependent on government assistance. As a result, legislative efforts against offshoring are starting to take place across the country - here in Minnesota, two bills (S.F. 1792 and H.F. 1816), which would limit offshoring, are currently under debate. It also looks likely that this practice will become an issue in this year's Presidential campaign.
So what can we do?

I think that governments at all levels have a vested interest in the offshoring issue. Corporations are legal entities which gain many benefits granted by governments - but with these benefits should come responsibilities to the places where companies do business. Part of the 'social contract' in granting a corporate charter is an expectation that the company will be a good citizen, and it's time that we as a society demand such accountability. Why should a company that sends jobs to another country receive tax benefits and shelters within any part of the U.S.?

As someone who grew up in Detroit during the 1970s, I saw the positive effects that unions can have in protecting jobs and ensuring fair treatment for employees - that's part of the reason I became involved in Alliance@IBM. I think it is time for high-tech and white-collar workers to come together and organize to save our jobs.

Offshoring is going to continue being a highly controversial issue. I ask that all people in this country who have concerns about this issue keep this discussion going - talk to your friends and neighbors, write letters to the editor of local papers, and contact legislators at all levels where changes can be made. We are fighting for the rights of workers across the country, and for a way of life, which made the United States the greatest country in the world.

I thank you for your attention

Copyright 2004, Alliance at IBM/CWA, Endicott, NY and Washington D.C.