In Trump ‘45, the President had a showdown with the Tennessee Valley Authority over 200 American jobs that TVA had switched to H1Bs.
In the run-up to Christmas, TVA fired these 200 Americans - and had them train their foreign replacements on the way out.
They did this despite the fact that TVA is (1) a government agency; (2) founded to improve the material station of poor Americans, and (3) manages critical energy infrastructure for a large swath of the country.
My team and I proposed a plan to President Trump to reinstate the terminated American workers. Because the President of TVA cannot be fired by the President of the United States we thought President Trump should hold the TVA board members responsible - the highly-compensated decision-makers who had orchestrated the H1B worker swap.
The President agreed. He started firing TVA board members one at a time, with a demand to reinstate the Americans to their jobs. It didn’t take long before the TVA president and the remaining Board members agreed to reinstate the American workers.
At the time, some skeptical commentators said it was meaningless because it was “only” 200 jobs. But it was an important moment for two reasons.
First, these 200 jobs mattered to 200 American families, especially with Christmas approaching.
Second, it set an outer boundary for what short-term labor visas (which is ultimately what the H1B visa is) should NOT be used for: to replace competent American workers in a critical industry with temporary foreign visa workers just to save a buck.
There is broad agreement on the right about what H1B visas - or any other visa - should NOT be used for. The TVA showdown is an example of that.
Agreeing on this common understanding is the right starting place for this incoming administration.
Last edited
11:15 AM · Dec 28, 2024
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