Solidarity Sunday: A Looming Threat to Labor
I see a major threat to Labor in our region of the country.
It got my attention because Union Up provides the marketing and technology infrastructure needed for local unions to stay competitive and grow market share, and any threat to labor is a threat to us. But I also have a personal interest because my family has deep roots in the affected area: the Tennessee Valley. My mother grew up in Florence, AL and my grandfather was a farmer in nearby Center Star during the era when the TVA Tennessee Valley Authority transformed rural life there, bringing electricity, economic opportunity, and stability to communities that had lived without power and reliable infrastructure for generations. I remember vividly as a kid, my grandfather taking me by TVA facilities like Wilson and Wheeler Dam.
Today, the TVA is under a threat that could have profound implications for union jobs, affordable power, and economic strength across a seven-state region. (TN, AL, MS, NC, VA, KY, GA)
A Quiet Shift with Huge Consequences
In the past year, the current administration in Washington has removed multiple members from the TVA Board of Directors, three earlier last year and more are expected, signaling a potential realignment of influence at one of the most significant public power providers in the country.
On its face, board turnover might seem procedural. But in context with broader policy signals from the administration's stated preference for privatization and "efficiency," it deserves attention from anyone responsible for long-term labor stability and economic opportunity.
The narrative that the administration will use is one framed around government inefficiency: that TVA's status as a federally owned utility means waste, bureaucratic delay, and misallocation of capital, etc.
The Bellefonte Nuclear Facility: The Political Whipping Boy
Critics already point to the Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station as the prime example of TVA's alleged "failure."
Here's what the record shows:
- Bellefonte is an unfinished nuclear power plant near Hollywood, Alabama originally begun in the 1970s.
- TVA invested roughly $6 billion into construction before work was halted in 1988 and never produced a single kilowatt of power. TVA already attempted to sell the site in 2016.
- Over decades, equipment has been removed for use elsewhere and various restart proposals failed to materialize, leading TVA to withdraw its nuclear construction permits for Bellefonte in 2021, but rescinded its earlier decision and reaffirmed that TVA would keep the property for potential future use.
Yes, the Bellefonte facility represents a costly, decades-long project that did not reach completion. But this isolated outcome of a multi-year project ultimately halted is not a fair measure of TVA's entire service, performance, or public value.
A Broader, Positive Record
TVA's mission, since the 1930s, has been wide-ranging: flood control, navigation, economic development, and reliable, affordable electricity for homes and businesses across rural and urban communities alike. That mission has been supported by thousands of good-paying union jobs.
That mission helped make the Tennessee Valley competitive:
- Power rates are significantly below national averages which has attracted industry growth and made the area affordable for our people to live and work.
- Attraction of manufacturers and infrastructure investments, many of which support union jobs.
- Local stability and economic anchors in communities where private investment alone struggled to reach.
This is not abstract, it's real economic muscle that supports living-wage jobs, family livelihoods, and regional competitiveness.
What Privatization Could Look Like
As privatization gains traction, the narrative they'll use will be framed like this:
Government utility = waste and inefficiency
Private ownership = efficiency and prosperity
But privatization, especially to private equity, changes the economic logic:
- Profit becomes priority. TVA utilities will be sold off piece-meal and restructured so investors can extract higher returns.
- Ratepayers pay the price because higher utility rates will follow privatization as profit margins are built into costs. Private equity would likely end up just selling the power back to the TVA anyway with added costs to make sure their investors make a hefty profit.
- Union jobs are vulnerable. Private equity focuses primarily on investor returns and could not care less about sustaining union wages unless mandated by strong, enforceable agreements.
This isn't speculation; this is a common pattern seen when large public assets transition into purely private hands.
Why Business Managers and Local Unions Should Care
Even if your local doesn't have a TVA system contract, the stakes are big for Labor:
- TVA's service area spans seven states with tens of thousands of union members directly and indirectly tied to utility-related work.
- Privatizing a major public utility like this will embolden similar proposals in other regions.
- Labor's influence on economic development especially where long-term infrastructure supports union jobs would be in jeopardy.
The TVA debate isn't confined to northern Alabama; it's a case study in how power economic, political, and industrial can shift when governance structures change.
What You Can Do
If you feel similarly that this is a looming threat to labor:
- Talk to your members about this and encourage them to look into it. You can send them this podcast we recently did on the subject.
- Take a closer look at how privatization proposals take shape and what the real economic outcomes tend to be.
- Contact your local legislators (and encourage your members to as well) and let them know you understand the issue and you want them to keep the public in charge of public power.
In a future Solidarity Sunday, we'll outline ways your union can support civic engagement and community education around TVA's future in a way that protects economic interests that affect working families.
Regardless of your political affiliation, economic power belongs with the people who create it in the area it is meant to serve, not private equity.
Stay tuned.