SOLIDARITY ALERT: Labor, Community Organizations Join EA to Protest TVA Offshoring of Federal Government Jobs

This week members, leaders and staff from the Engineering Association (EA/IFPTE Local 1937) were joined by the Knoxville and Chattanooga Central Labor Councils, Appalachian Voices and other community organizations in the Tennessee Valley to protest the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) continued efforts to export as many as 220 federal jobs. 

The protests, which took place in Knoxville on Tuesday and Chattanooga on Wednesday, were aimed at bringing awareness to the community that TVA is contracting these jobs to IT offshoring firms Capgemini, Accenture and CGI, and are doing so in violation in TVA’s long standing mission of bringing economic prosperity to the Tennessee Valley. During the protests, attended by EA/IFPTE Local 1937 and Eastern Federal Area Vice President Gay Henson and IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer Matt Biggs, it was noted that “the loss of these jobs will also strip at least $85 million from the Tennessee Valley, which is bad on its face but is even more alarming when our economy is trying to prevent the floor from falling out from under us during this pandemic. TVA’s privatization of these jobs will not save any money, is in violation of the TVA mission, and will upend these 220 dedicated workers and their families. We demand they reverse course immediately.” 

See short videos here from some of the IFPTE represented members being forced to train their replacements. We also urge you to send a letter to TVA's Board of Directors to stop outsourcing IT jobs.

RELATED:
6/23/2020 - Senator Doug Jones Calls Out TVA for Layoffs, Outsourcing During Pandemic (Alabama Political Reporter)

6/16/2020 – Union Protests Possible Layoffs by TVA (ABC6/WATE)

6/17/2020 - Unions Blast TVA for Outsourcing IT Jobs During Pandemic (Chattanooga Time Free Press)