Guest Author - Sandra Eggers

As Corporate American struggles to compete in a shrinking economy, IT projects and high tech headcount continue to be a target. When top execs found that sending the programming work Offshore could save lots of money, they headed for the door and never looked back.

Any IT worker who's been in the trenches can tell you that outsourcing isn't optimal for anyone involved. There are language barriers to overcome, distances that challenge project timelines, and a basic lack of how the business works. More importantly, the knowledge of these critical business systems is with the offshore group who develop them, and not in the IT group inside the company where it is being used.

Needless to say, offshore outsourcing continues to be the direction many companies are heading. So not only are jobs opportunities tight because of the slow economy, whatever jobs may have been available are now headed offshore. This is a doubly whammy to American IT workers.

What to do, what to do. Well, besides searching the want ads and internet job sites, a group of programmers has decided to take the matter into their own hands. Might as well be productive if you've been laid off and don't have a job anyway.

According to The Gartner Group, a recent news media report states that a group of U.S. programmers, laid off due to offshore outsourcing, have filed a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Labor. The group seeks compensation and payments under the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which protects workers who's jobs move overseas.

Unfortunately, the government may have established their policy without considering the high-tech industry. It is reported that software and other IT products do not meet the government's requirements, which means the programmers would not be eligible for assistance.

Programmers are a persistent group, and the fight goes on. Whatever follows in the form of findings or denial in this case may have a great impact on the future of IT workers in the U.S., but will not likely have much impact offshore outsoucing. Stay tuned for more.


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