IT workers replaced by foreign labor may regain federal benefit
Southern California Edison workers may have been among the last to qualify under Trade Adjustment Assistance
Jun 24, 2015 3:00 AM PT
As Southern California Edison (SCE) began replacing its IT workers with foreign labor, several IT employees asked the U.S. government for help. They submitted an application for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), and explained why they believe trade played a role in their job loss.
The SCE workers noted that the utility "used a large percentage of foreign IT workers, at times over 50%," they wrote in their application for benefits.
"The use of foreign IT workers makes it much harder for American IT workers to find jobs in America, particularly those like the petitioners, who are all age 50+," the workers wrote.
The SCE application for TAA benefits was filed in mid-December 2013 and benefits were approved by the U.S. Department of Labor. But this application from SCE employees may have been among the last ones that the government approved for IT workers. Beginning in 2014, service workers, including IT employees, were deemed ineligible for TAA benefits.
More:
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2939842/it-careers/it-workers-replaced-by-foreign-labor-may-regain-federal-benefit.html