> This is a message all Columbia students got from the outgoing president of
> Columbia, concerning unionization of teaching assistants.
>
> Christopher Rhoades Dÿkema
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2002 16:55:18 EST
> From: George Rupp <rupp at CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU>
> Reply-To: cu-response at columbia.edu
> To: Columbia Community <colucomm at CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU>
> Subject: Student Unionization
>
> Dear Fellow Columbians:
>
> Next month, we will have an election at Columbia on whether or
> not the United Auto Workers will represent our teaching and
> research assistants. The dates of the election are still to be
> determined by the Regional Director of the National Labor
> Relations Board. Whenever it occurs, its outcome will have a
> significant influence on the future of both our graduate and our
> undergraduate programs. It is, therefore, a crucial choice for
> our University.
The replacement pipeline for these TA's is already in place. There's no cap on the number of H1-B visas issued for university/non-profit positions.
Chris
H-1B visas jump in 2001
By Rachel Konrad
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
January 22, 2002, 1:40 PM PT
Demand for skilled foreign workers reached an all-time high in fiscal
2001--despite a recession and massive layoffs of American workers.
The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) received 342,035
applications for H-1B visas between Oct. 1, 2000, and Sept. 30,
2001--a 14.4 percent increase from fiscal 2000, according to a survey
released Tuesday by VisaNow.com. H-1B visas allow foreigners with
college degrees and relevant job experience to work in the United
States, usually for technology firms looking for programmers and
engineers.
The survey, based on public data supplied by the INS, is one of the
first to demonstrate that the recession hasn't necessarily dented
demand for controversial H-1B visas. A flurry of news reports in the
past year have concluded that demand may be shrinking because the INS
issued only about 163,000 H-1B visas in the 2001 fiscal year--far
short of the federal cap of 195,000.
But VisaNow.com spokesman Mark D. Shevitz said that the federal cap
applies only to certain professionals, such as programmers and
engineers at private technology companies. A large percentage of the
foreign workers are exempt from the cap--including scientists hired to
teach at American universities, government research labs and
non-profit organizations.
"Just because we didn't hit the cap doesn't mean there's any less of a
demand," Shevitz said. "You need to look at the number of H-1Bs
applied for, not approved, to determine demand."
Many of the applications in the past year have been for visas in
universities, government agencies and non-profit groups, an INS
representative said Tuesday. But the INS has not released data on how
many of the 178,835 applicants who did not get visas under the H-1B
cap were exempt and may still receive visas.