In the nation’s current hyper-partisan atmosphere, one might not expect U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) and former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to be fighting on the same side of an issue. However, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has seemingly managed to bridge the divide between political parties, even in a presidential election year.
As reported by the Chattanooga Times Free Press, the TVA earlier this year announced it would outsource one out of every five of its information technology jobs, totaling 120 in-house IT jobs being cut. These cuts went into effect as the coronavirus pandemic slammed the American economy, and corresponding layoffs have continued recently.
This was the subject of a protest Tuesday in Huntsville attended by some affected employees as well as Matt Biggs, the secretary-treasurer of the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers (IFPTE); Gay Henson, president of IFPTE 1937, the local chapter representing the laid off workers in the Tennessee Valley; and Sessions.
RELATED: Sessions decries TVA efforts to outsource IT jobs amid economic downturn
Jones had a statement read aloud at the event and also sent the same statement out to the media in support of the cause.
“I stand with the Engineering Association today — and every day — as they watch their jobs outsourced to a foreign company in the middle of a pandemic,” Jones stated.
“The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was formed to help grow this country’s middle class and bring the American economy out of the Great Depression,” he continued. “Clearly, the TVA has lost its way. It is unconscionable that they would send American jobs overseas, especially when so many folks are struggling and out of work in the worst public health crisis of our lifetimes. We need to do all we can to protect lives and livelihoods during this difficult time, and the TVA must reconsider this reckless decision.”
The TVA is the electricity provider for much of North Alabama. Self-described as “a corporate agency of the United States,” it is regulated at the federal level and not under the jurisdiction of the Alabama Public Service Commission.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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