  Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 922 Registered: 01-2005 |
I heard that the DMC is losing a lot of Canadian employees because of the big border crossing wait times and the dollar at par. Since there is no "premium" for working in Detroit, they are quitting. Seems bad for us Detroiters because they were an important employee segment in a field that already has shortages. | ||
Ndavies Member Username: Ndavies Post Number: 2781 Registered: 10-2003 |
I think this is good for Detroiters and health care workers. Salaries will have to rise to draw in more workers. Didn't it ever occur to you that the canadian workers were holding down salaries for american workers. The undervalued Canadian dollar was deflating the wages being paid to nurses. Now that the wages will have to rise there will be more americans going into nursing. | ||
Upinottawa Member Username: Upinottawa Post Number: 965 Registered: 09-2005 |
According to NurseWeek, about 3000 Canadian-resident nurses worked in Michigan as of 2000. One would expect that number to be greater as of 2007. http://www.nurseweek.com/news/ features/00-07/canada.html The lack of a premium to work on the Michigan side will certainly result in fewer Canadian nurses in Michigan. I know several nurses at Beaumont who plan to (or have) quit working in Michigan due to the dollar. By 2010, Michigan is predicted to have a nurse shortage of 8000 RNs. Due to parity, that number is going to increase. | ||
Upinottawa Member Username: Upinottawa Post Number: 966 Registered: 09-2005 |
NDavies: there is no pool of qualified Michigan nurses to fill these jobs. Michigan has a nurse shortage. The Canadian workers need TN Visas to work in Michigan. To obtain a TN Visa, there must be a demonstrated shortage in a particular profession. | ||
Tkelly1986 Member Username: Tkelly1986 Post Number: 413 Registered: 01-2004 |
One would think this is a plus for Detroit, as it means jobs opening up for Americans who pay US taxes ect.... | ||
Ndavies Member Username: Ndavies Post Number: 2783 Registered: 10-2003 |
It's the same argument as the agriculture,(Why all the Mexicans?), Construction(Why all the Mexicans?) IT (Why all the indians?), Nurses(Why all the Canadians), doctors(Why All the British and Indians), and educational industries all have. All professions that are being brought in under H1 type visas. We live in a free market capital system. Why should any american want to be a nurse if the pay is below the pay generated by a different profession for the same amount of education. Why be a nurse when a similar career doesn't expect you to work nights and holidays. Salaries in these professions need to rise to generate the interest of people about to enter schools. Why get a technical degree when a management degree with lesser learning requirements will pay more? This is where we've been for the last 20 years. This is why technical skill positions have been so under valued. We are just starting to see the repercussions of corporations underpaying for highly educated skill sets. Nursing also suffers because it is a traditional womans job. Salaries in the field need to rise to match the demands put on the people by the organizations that employ them. The free market swings both ways. We have a surplus of overpaid Autoworkers. They need to be thinned. We have a shortage of Nurses. We need more. How do you get more kids interested in Nursing than Autoworking? By paying the Nurses more. | ||
Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 923 Registered: 01-2005 |
I agree that salaries need to rise - but who will pay the bill? The DMC already has the heaviest burden of non-paying patients in the area. | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 1776 Registered: 10-2006 |
All else being equal (the exchange rate that is), persons in the medical profession make more working in the US than in Canada do to the socialization of the medical practice by our neighbors to the north. | ||
Aiw Member Username: Aiw Post Number: 6391 Registered: 10-2003 |
Most Canadian nurses work in MI because of a lack of jobs in the field in the Windsor area. That allows them to live a home and still work in their field. TKelly, that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Canadians who work in the US pay double taxes, US Income Tax and Canadian Income Tax. It's not like Canadian nurses are working under the table illegally. The advantage (financially) is now outweighed by the disadvantage (the border). | ||
Detroitbill Member Username: Detroitbill Post Number: 333 Registered: 09-2006 |
AIW, you are partially correct. Canada and the U.S. have reciprocal tax treaties where a foreign tax credit is allowed based on income earned in that respective country. In other words, a Canadian nurse pays taxes to the U.S. based on employment earnings, then gets a tax "credit" on their Canadian return when they file it and it is adjusted for differences in tax rates ( which Canada pays substantially more than U. S. citizens do on average ) and gains or losses in currency fluctuations. It is not double taxes though, as a credit is allowed for the taxes paid to the other country. I work with International Taxation issues and this is a very common occurence in our area. However we can't negate the purchasing power Canadians are bringing to the Detroit area with the currency practically at par. All these Canadians working in the Detroit area buy many goods and services while here and many many more are now shopping in Detroit Metro daily, especially on the weekends. This ends up being a big plus for retailers in the Detroit area. This is very good at a time when Detroit needs it. | ||
Upinottawa Member Username: Upinottawa Post Number: 967 Registered: 09-2005 |
It would be wise for Michigan to spend money retraining former auto workers to be nurses. However, it will take at least four years for the first graduates from the program to start working (assuming it is a four year program like Ontario). That being said, what money is Michigan planning to use to retrain these workers? The state isn't exactly rich these days? Either way, with the American dollar in the toilet, Metro Detroit's hospitals will continue to struggle with a nurse shortage. | ||
Perfectgentleman Member Username: Perfectgentleman Post Number: 3228 Registered: 03-2006 |
quote: Nah, they might go on strike and leave the patients to die. |
