Letters – Truth to power

California nightmares

I cannot believe you reported on Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order banning the sale of new combustion-powered passenger vehicles without so much as a hint of the disastrous consequences it might bring (California Dreamin’, January 2021).

Oppose H-2B Increase

Make sure the omnibus spending bill doesn’t increase H-2B visas!

I cannot understand why some of your colleagues are pushing for H-2B visa increases in the upcoming omnibus spending bill. American workers are still devastated by the pandemic and the situation will only get worse this winter. Increasing the number of H-2B foreign workers will only make it more difficult for Americans to get back to work.

Increasing H-2B visa numbers will only keep more Americans unemployed and outside the workforce. Because H-2B visa holders tend to take unskilled jobs, these visas harm less-educated and lower-skilled Americans the most. Worse still, these impacted Americans are disproportionately Black and Hispanic Americans.

Further unfairly impacted by the pandemic, Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Americans with a high school education or less have been hit the hardest, and increasing H-2B numbers will only escalate the burden. Please ensure the omnibus spending bill doesn’t raise the H-2B cap or authorize DHS to raise the cap.

Greg Raven, Apple Valley, CA

Labor Department statistics prove no ‘labor shortage’

According to recent statistics released by the Labor Department, there has been some improvement in the current jobs crisis facing American workers. Sadly, there is much work to be done in reversing the disastrous effects the COVID-19 panic has had on our economy and labor force.

Thank you for holding federal agencies accountable

Thank you for your recent executive order holding federal agencies accountable for H-1B abuses in the contractor sector. I’m sure you were as shocked as I was to learn of the TVA’s plans to outsource crucial IT jobs in one of the nation’s critical infrastructure grids — especially during the dire jobs situation facing the nation.

Please support enforcement of the public charge rule

I was saddened to hear that New York District Judge George Daniels halted the Trump Administration’s Public Charge rule, again, even after the Supreme Court struck down an identical nationwide injunction put in place by Daniels in January.

When will your company switch to renewable energy?

I wanted to understand why you think I’m virtue signaling based on flawed ideology in asking that [company name] transition to using renewable energy sources?
As far as I’m concerned I’m using market forces (withdrawing my customers) to bring about a world that isn’t choking itself to death on toxic fossil fuels. Yes there’ll be some environmental cost to this short-term transition (presumably the “devastation” you refer to further up the post) but in the long term as we get our energy directly from the sun, wind and sea, rather that from the decayed carbon of dead animals from millions of years ago, the world will be a better place.
I’d love to understand how you could disagree with the above sentiment (without denying climate science)?
Have a fabulous day, and I hope you are open to having your mind swung round on this one 🙂
All the best,
Ali