President Donald Trump remains committed to supporting American workers first and foremost and his recent actions prove his vigilance.
In a series of moves designed to prioritize U.S. citizens returning to the workforce before opportunities are offered to foreigners, President Trump made a national example out of the chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and another board member. The president used a strategy reminiscent of his days on the popular reality television show “The Apprentice.”
“So, let this serve as a warning to any federally appointed board,” President Trump reportedly said. “If you betray American workers, then you will hear two simple words, ‘You’re fired. You’re fired.’”
The president’s ire was stoked by the fact the TVA planned to outsource good-paying technology positions to non-Americans. The president also signed an executive order being called “Hiring American” that directs federal agencies to hire U.S. citizens first.
“This Executive Order follows the federally-owned Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) announcement that it will outsource 20 percent of its technology jobs to companies based in foreign countries,” the White House reportedly stated. “TVA’s action could cause more than 200 highly-skilled American tech workers in Tennessee to lose their jobs to low-wage, foreign workers hired on temporary work visas.”
President Trump also took TVA chief Jeff Lyash to task over his outrageous $8.1 million annual salary. He clearly expressed to the board members who survived that he expects salaries to be reasonable taxpayer expenses.
“We’re getting rid of (Lyash) in one form or another. Either the board’s gonna do it, or we’re gonna do it, but he’s gone,” President Trump said. “We will get somebody for a much lower price. I want the savings on a lower salary, to go to the people of these great states in the form of energy savings.”
The president’s attention was brought to bear on the TVA after U.S. Tech Workers executive director Kevin Lynn ran an advertisement on Fox News highlighting H-1B work visa abuses. The TVA reportedly planned to bring in cheap foreign tech workers and leave Americans unemployed. If everyday people are still wondering where President Trump draws his red line in the sand, it’s when hard-working Americans are treated unfairly.
“Today was a momentous event for American tech workers. It is the first time we have ever seen a President take immediate action in protecting American tech jobs from being outsourced to foreign companies that heavily use the H-1B visa program to funnel cheaper foreign labor,” Lynn said. “The President listened to the voices of the TVA tech workers who were harmed and decided to take executive action.”
Organizations such as Protect U.S. Workers and others have endorsed President Trump. Many are drawing comparisons to the Democratic party candidate Joe Biden who pushed for increasing HB-1 visas in 2013, while the country suffered an unemployment rate of more than 7 percent.
“We also think it’s essential to reform the immigration system. Every year … our university system generates roughly 40,000 people with PhDs and master degrees in areas of science and technology that we need, and we make sure that they’re promptly escorted back to their country,” Biden reportedly said in 2013. “Sending them back to their country denies them a visa even when they have a job waiting for them. Instead of sending them home, we should be stamping a green card on their diploma as they walk across the stage. Literally, I mean this literally, not figuratively, literally. If they have a job here, they should be able to stay here. We should want them here.”
