A few weeks back, this column featured a story about a local boss who wanted to inspire confidence among his workers in response to the current economic calamity. Rick Hill of Metropolitan Steel gathered his 50 employees and gave them $600 "stimulus" checks, along with a pep talk and a reminder to spend it locally.

His actions weren't engineered to put himself in the spotlight, but to set an example for other business owners about taking care of their own, investing in their employees and their communities.

Apparently Washington Gaslight Co. didn't get the message.

Last week, Ed Waters told FNP readers that the company was laying off 300 workers, including employees at its Frederick Gas division.

The utility company, serving the natural gas needs of most of Metropolitan Washington, isn't in financial straits. No union negotiations had broken its back with unreasonable demands. The targeted employees don't fill superfluous or unnecessary positions.

No, this was part of a long-term plan to replace these folks with staff based in the Philippines.

To add insult to injury, the company expects those losing their jobs to train consultants so they can teach new staff in Manila. John Holt, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union representing the Frederick Gas employees, said "no."

"We're at a stalemate," Holt said in an interview. In the end, it probably won't change anything, but at least they preserve some dignity.

Unions, overall, have gotten a bad rap. Sure there are those who made onerous demands and put their companies at risk of failing or out of business entirely. But people are quick to forget that unions are responsible for many of the perks we enjoy today, including a 40-hour work week. Holt said unions today have more information about a company's profits, and he thinks it is in any union's best interest to ensure the company is financially healthy and productive.

He thinks the utility company's latest layoffs are just a way to "make an extra buck," and are just the beginning of cuts to come. Holt is worried that by shipping these jobs overseas, the utility's customers' billing information goes right along with him. To Holt, it's a matter of homeland security.

He plans to take this issue up with political leaders and hopes a federal bill, similar to one in New York state, will protect this information and keep jobs at home.

Offshoring or outsourcing jobs overseas hasn't grabbed many headlines lately, but we will likely hear more about it as the implications of our current economic crisis continue to reverberate across the nation.

Economists are at odds with each other over the impact offshoring has on America's financial health. Advocates think job loss is minimal, that it doesn't substantially lower American workers' salaries, and in the end is an emotional argument that hasn't been fully vetted.

The Government Accountability Office issued a report a few years ago that does back up at least one of those points: there hasn't been enough research to fully grasp the negatives or positives of offshoring American jobs.

In these shaky times, taking jobs away from Americans to give them to foreigners, especially when a company is fiscally sound, sends the wrong message.