Apple CEO Tim Cook Urges U.S. Senate to Pass the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act

[citysnaps]

3. Can Tim please either quit Apple and become the insufferable SJW activist that he is or shut up and focus on running a business? I really loathe the CEO activist type.

Tim Cook as CEO of Apple has an obligation to advocate on behalf of his employees (sometimes against the US Government), especially on matters concerning equal rights. As any good CEO would. That's part of "running a business."

Maybe Apple customers who so easily anger with respect to how Tim Cook runs the company should "quit Apple."

 

[Macintoshrumors]

Sorry but I don’t remember electing Tim Cook to be involved in writing policy. Stick to electronics Tim.

 

[Sodium Chloride]

Any foreign students who graduated from a 4-year college in the United States with a 3.5 GPA or higher should automatically be given a green card. And if they work for a company with outstanding achievement, they should be given the opportunity to get a US Citizenship in 2.5 years, instead of normal 5 years.

 

[jimbobb24]

Per country limits are a good idea. It is a bargaining chip to use in negotiations with other countries during diplomacy. Getting rid of it limits some diplomatic options.

I oppose family chain immigration. If you bring a professional here to contribute why bring his cousin who might not have any useful skills? Family based immigration defeats the purpose of trying to getting skilled contributors here becasue their family members end up competing with poor American citizens for jobs And this further reduces their prospects to escape poverty.

 

[Vanilla35]

I am not American, but I find it hard that out of 300+M Americans, there are still some people with certain skill set that are needed from foreign countries.

Once you go towards paying for cheap labor there is "no" going back. There is enough talent, they just don't want to pay for the equivalent qualified "local" person.

 

[Joe h]

Yeah, the guys on a roll. His wages are forcing apple engineers to sleep in their cars, he wants to bring in even cheaper labor, because apparently the wages they’re paying car sleepers is just too steep. Plus he is supporting China’s attempt at steamrolling Hong Kong.

But the stock price is being inflated by Chinese money, so everything is great, the man is a ****ing genius.

 

[I7guy]

Seems like what worked for America in the 1900's is trying to be recreated in the 2000's. Except today, I'm not sure America needs a law like this.
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Yeah, the guys on a roll. His wages are forcing apple engineers to sleep in their cars, he wants to bring in even cheaper labor, because apparently the wages they’re paying car sleepers is just too steep. Plus he is supporting China’s attempt at steamrolling Hong Kong.

But the stock price is being inflated by Chinese money, so everything is great, the man is a ****ing genius.

Maybe the engineers are in the wrong job?

 

[thevault]

All about cheap labor. Wages keep going down and computer prices keep going up.

 

[citysnaps]

Sorry but I don’t remember electing Tim Cook to be involved in writing policy. Stick to electronics Tim.

Writing policy? What policies? And for who? Be specific.

 

[Macaholic868]

If you want to know what a particular bill in the US House or Senate is not then have a look at the title. The “Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act” is actually the “Unfairness for High Skilled Americans Act”.

These companies want free and fair markets for their American products but do not want free and fair markets for their American workers. They want to flood the country with high skilled non-citizens to drive labor costs down. A practice they wouldn’t stand for if the situation were reversed and overseas firms wanted to flood our American markets with low cost knock offs of their products.

I’m all for allowing high skilled immigrants come here to work if, and only if, there really aren’t any American citizens with the skills to do these jobs. This is simply not the case. There are plenty of high skilled Americans to do these jobs. They just won’t do them for such ridiculously low wages. Apple wants fair markets to peddle its products but doesn’t want fair markets from which to hire its workers.

 

[steve333]

There is no such thing as cheap labour is Silicon Valley
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American universities cannot keep up with the demands of all the US companies for software engineers American companies consume software engineers more than double the rate that US universities can produce them most the SF Bay Area has an unemployment rate of 3%. You can quit a your job here in the morning and have another job in the afternoon.

That's a crock. Companies are firing American engineers to replace them with foreigners. Silicon Valley may be another issue because people may not want to live there due to the high housing costs (cause ironically by these same high paying jobs).
Housing needs to start being viewed as Health Insurance is. A necessity where costs need to be controlled.
Large parts of this country are becoming unlivable and high immigration rates don't help

 

[citysnaps]

Apple wants fair markets to peddle its products but doesn’t want fair markets from which to hire its workers.

Since you mentioned Apple, I suspect you have detailed knowledge about their technical staff hiring practices.

Let's take engineers with either a BS or MS degree, with say, 5 years of experience. Can you report Apple's average wage for a US degreed engineer vs a non-citizen engineer with the same degree and experience? Links would help.

 

[DoctorTech]

We don’t have enough talented citizens to fill the necessary positions? I’m asking seriously, not rhetorically. If we don’t, we need to seriously boost STEM programs.

This is a very legitimate question. I teach graduate level statistics and data analytics courses for a Big 10 University. STEM degrees require a lot more hard work / effort than some other degrees so the students who go into these programs usually have higher salary expectations than students who go into less academically challenging programs. The heavy reliance upon foreign STEM workers today lowers salaries in these fields today and as a ripple effect, practically guarantees fewer students will go into STEM programs today to take STEM jobs 4 years from now.

 

[d0nK]

Train native people. Stop the Globalist push to fill Western civilisation with the third world.

 

[robbietop]

But when the Senate and a prominent bartender in the House asks you to reinstate an app for protesters, you balk.

 

[Irock619]

Trump wants more manufacturing in the US, which means more engineers. These people come to our schools and go back home anyway. Why not just keep them here to improve our economy? Keep them here the legal way as well!

 

[psingh01]

Fortunately Chairman Cook is now associated with a foreign university that can supply these high skilled workers that apparently can’t be found here.

 

[FriendlyMackle]

What a vapid statement. Some immigrants make this country stronger, most don’t. I’m not sure what a ‘dynamic’ economy is and neither is Cook. It is a meaningless phrase.

What really baffles me is how a country with free education and welfare can’t produce enough qualified workers. If Tim can’t get enough qualified workers from Americans then we need to end welfare to better incentify Americans.

Because 'free' (paid for by taxes) education is generally not very good in this country. The reasons for the lack of quality go beyond a simple lack of funds in low property-tax/low-tax areas. I certainly don't know how we could resolve our schools' dysfunction.

That's one big reason (among several others, like lack of motivation) that we don't produce more qualified tech/STEM workers. Most of those who might have the natural aptitude don't have the opportunity to learn basics well enough to progress into STEM fields at the university level (and have any chance of success). Above-average individuals may well achieve despite poor educational environments, but they will be the outliers.
Secondly is the abject lack of attention by parents to their children's educational attainments early on in elementary through high school. I don't approve of corporal punishment in general, but it in my experience as a youngster, some students don't respond to anything less than punishment.

When I read today about students attacking their teachers due to receiving poor grades (which they deserve for poor work!) and their parents supporting the students in this...I don't even know what to say. But these are not isolated happenings. I'm just glad that I don't have children, because public schools do not inspire confidence in positive outcomes for the children.
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How many apartments for homeless Americans has Apple built?

Every new immigrant across the border is another American on the sidewalk. The numbers don't officially match because the deaths of homeless Americans are not acknowledged.

Let's also talk about what happens to most Americans over the age of 50-55...when companies no longer want to hire them because they A) earn too much, and B) their work can be done less competently by younger, less-experienced people. This is not to say that some are not dinosaurs...but most of us don't stop learning and changing at 35! And with life expectancy being now high-70's to low-80's, that really is a lot of time to be unable to work in a field wherein you may have valuable long-term experience.
I'm in my low 50's and planning on a 'new' career track for my late 50's to 60's because I doubt I'll be able to find satisfactory work in my given industry once I leave my current company (or it closes down).

 

[thevault]

Trump wants more manufacturing in the US, which means more engineers. These people come to our schools and go back home anyway. Why not just keep them here to improve our economy? Keep them here the legal way as well!

No, they don't go back home they stay in the States and work for less money.
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Because 'free' (paid for by taxes) education is generally not very good in this country. The reasons for the lack of quality go beyond a simple lack of funds in low property-tax/low-tax areas. I certainly don't know how we could resolve our schools' dysfunction.

That's one big reason (among several others, like lack of motivation) that we don't produce more qualified tech/STEM workers. Most of those who might have the natural aptitude don't have the opportunity to learn basics well enough to progress into STEM fields at the university level (and have any chance of success). Above-average individuals may well achieve despite poor educational environments, but they will be the outliers.
Secondly is the abject lack of attention by parents to their children's educational attainments early on in elementary through high school. I don't approve of corporal punishment in general, but it in my experience as a youngster, some students don't respond to anything less than punishment.

When I read today about students attacking their teachers due to receiving poor grades (which they deserve for poor work!) and their parents supporting the students in this...I don't even know what to say. But these are not isolated happenings. I'm just glad that I don't have children, because public schools do not inspire confidence in positive outcomes for the children.
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Let's also talk about what happens to most Americans over the age of 50-55...when companies no longer want to hire them because they A) earn too much, and B) their work can be done less competently by younger, less-experienced people. This is not to say that some are not dinosaurs...but most of us don't stop learning and changing at 35! And with life expectancy being now high-70's to low-80's, that really is a lot of time to be unable to work in a field wherein you may have valuable long-term experience.
I'm in my low 50's and planning on a 'new' career track for my late 50's to 60's because I doubt I'll be able to find satisfactory work in my given industry once I leave my current company (or it closes down).

Very true....
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Any foreign students who graduated from a 4-year college in the United States with a 3.5 GPA or higher should automatically be given a green card. And if they work for a company with outstanding achievement, they should be given the opportunity to get a US Citizenship in 2.5 years, instead of normal 5 years.

No.