TRUMP WRONG TO FIRE TVA BOARD MEMBERS

President Donald Trump threw the baby out with the bathwater Monday by firing the chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority because he said the utility kept seeking foreign labor.

Trump, since he began his first presidential campaign in 2015, has insisted American workers were getting the shaft from trade deals the country had made, from the millions of illegal immigrants who have come into the U.S. and from companies hiring too many foreign workers.

He is right in his desire to put the country’s workers first, but his actions Monday were a severe overreaction to a problem that might have been corrected through a face-to-face meeting, negotiation or compromise.

The White House acknowledged that Trump appointee James “Skip” Thompson, the board chairman, and member Richard Howorth, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, had been fired.

Trump also said TVA CEO Jeff Lyash is making too much money — $8 million a year, he said.

Of course, $8 million is a lot of money, but all energy company chief executives are well paid, and Tennessee Valley residents should expect TVA’s top officer to be paid commensurately, even if the utility is a federally owned corporation and not a private enterprise.

On Tuesday, Lyash said plans to lay off some 100 information technology workers — in favor of foreign workers — would be suspended until it reviews Trump’s executive order that forbids federal agencies from outsourcing jobs overseas.

“I clearly hear the message — preserving as many American jobs as we can,” he said.

By all rights, TVA under Lyash and its previous chief executive, Bill Johnson, have cut costs, cut carbon emissions, diversified its energy sources and put the agency on a solid footing.

Yet, the president has been outspoken in his desire that TVA not outsource a good part of its information technology division, and we don’t disagree, but we think the firings, and threats to fire other board members, were not the way to go.

Trump said the agency’s CEO should be paid no more than $500,000, and that Lyash should be let go, but the president should know that amount that will not draw the top names in the energy industry.

Lyash on Tuesday said he serves at the pleasure at the board but would like to keep his job.

While “you’re fired” may work in Trump businesses and reality TV shows, we believe more skillful negotiations with TVA instead of sudden board member dismissals are what is needed to achieve better results for workers and ratepayers.