Harris Miller

Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), told News India-Times, that a new coalition of trade groups hopes to change the American antipathy to outsourcing. India, in particular, has become the butt of public and political anger as the destination for jobs lost to American workers and one of the top issues in an election year.

The newly-formed Coalition for Economic Growth and American Jobs, said Miller, was set up to educate the public and leading government officials that having United States be an active participant in the global economy is good, and to combat the “inaccurate and unhistorical” reporting that U.S. jobs going overseas was bad for the country, he told News India-Times in an interview.

“Much of the job-loss has nothing to do with overseas jobs loss,” he said. “It has to do with oil price, the burst bubble, and other things. Reports that the IT industry is going to go like the textile industry is pure and absolute nonsense because these jobs require people to be here. The jobs going overseas are less qualified ones,” Miller said.

But arguments made by the industry lobby stand in stark contrast to those made by American workers groups. Virtually all labor organizations, as well as more recently-formed IT workers associations, are ranged against employers, a classic confrontation that makes for election rhetoric. All Democratic candidates are posturing against outsourcing and currently there are some 88 bills pending in 38 states seeking to ban outsourcing.

“Election season does heighten the rhetoric but it would be naïve to think it (the anti-outsourcing hype) will go away after the elections. If unemployment continues to go down it might lessen concerns, but if unemployment remains after the elections, it would grow,” Miller said.

“Part of our challenge is to explain that it’s not a jobless growth taking place. Firstly, it’s always the case that the last part of the economy to recover is the jobs. It happened in the 1990s,” he said.

“We have seen a slow increase, not as rapid as some would like, in jobs. There’s been a net increase of 500,000 jobs since September. Still there are net 2 million less jobs since he took office,” Miller conceded.

Among the 200 or so trade groups that have come together to form the new coalition are The Business Roundtable made up of leading CEOs, The American Manufacturer’s Association, The Bankers Association, as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and ITAA.

The Business Roundtable released a research that it said demonstrates Americans want U.S. employers to engage in a worldwide economy and to pursue innovation. The research took a poll of 1,049 people. “Americans want U.S. employers to engage in the worldwide marketplace, and understand that doing so is essential for sustained growth and the creation of jobs for American workers,” said John J. Castellani, president of the Business Roundtable. “Engaging in the worldwide arena has allowed the U.S., our companies and our workers to lead.”

But in the charged atmosphere, few are prone to believe this. The ITAA has is planning its seventh annual National IT Workforce Convocation on May 3, to focus on the new global environment for IT workers, and pushing for their training and education.

Meanwhile, The National Hire American Citizens Professional Society leads the coalition called American Worker Replacement Programs by Work Visas and Corporate Off Shoring of American Jobs. They have pushed at state level for American Worker Protection Bills, already begun in Georgia, Colorado, Florida and Ohio, key states for the Presidential contenders come Nov-ember. This coalition contains organizations like the American Engineering Association, American Labor First, American Reformation Project, American Workers, Citizens Lobby, Communication Workers of America (Chicago chapter), IT Professional Society, The American Anti-Age Discrimination Association, and several others.

The divide may be vast between the two lobbies, Miller says, but “I’m an optimist. I believe even with irrational arguments, rational minds will prevail against stupid acts.”