Politicians'$165,000 India trip upsets workers opposing moving jobs abroad

[Robbien]

By RACHEL KONRAD
The Associated Press
4/27/04 6:22 PM

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- American technology workers riled by a congressional delegation's $165,000 trip to India say it amounted to little more than a junket promoting offshore outsourcing. Nine congressmen, mainly pro-labor Democrats from California, New York and Georgia, took the all-expenses paid trip to India in January. Most took along spouses or legislative aides, and some individual tabs exceeded $10,000.

The Confederation of Indian Industries, a trade group that helps craft India's economic policies and fosters relationships between American and Indian companies, paid for hotels, meals and transportation. CII members include India's pro-outsourcing trade group National Association of Software and Services Companies, and consulting firms that have gained tens of thousands of jobs from U.S. corporations eager to send work to low-wage engineers in India, China and Russia.

During the seven-day trip, New Delhi-based CII organized meetings between high-level politicians from India and the United States. Discussion topics included India's alarming rise in HIV infection, its lack of military participation in Iraq and the increasingly touchy subjects of offshoring and trade. The Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, a Seattle-based group trying to unionize white-collar tech workers, complained about the trip and said it would publish details from the lawmakers' travel disclosures on the Internet this week.

"This is why everyday Americans grow cynical about how business is done," said WashTech organizer Marcus Courtney. "They're tired of seeing politicians say they're concerned, then turn around and take a hop a plane and take tens of thousands of dollars from a group that puts Americans' jobs at risk."

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/business/index.ssf?/newsflash/get_story.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?f0365_BC_Congress-Offshoring&&news&newsflash-financial

[brokensymmetry]

1. It's enough to break your heart.

I'd expect this sort of behavior from a repig - but it hurts worse when good Democrats get involved in the same thing.

[Trillo]

2. International Fascists

Our legislators, democratic and republican are facilitating this "globalization without democracy." All it takes is a few dollars and you've now got your bought and paid for legislator.

[Pale_Rider]

3. Link?

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Anyway, off shoring is fast becoming a boondoggle for allot of companies that offshore and end-up having to on-shore it again due to cultural differences, unforeseen or hidden expenses, and time differences.