[Salon] US TSMC plant faces calls to ban Taiwanese workers; German plant expected

[Chas Freeman <cwfresidence@gmail.com>]

US TSMC plant faces calls to ban Taiwanese workers; German plant expected

Ben Lovejoy | Aug 7 2023 - https://9to5mac.com/2023/08/07/us-tsmc-plant-petition/

Controversy over the first ever US TSMC plant aren’t going away – especially plans for around 500 Taiwanese construction workers to be flown in.

A petition has been created, calling on senators and members of Congress to block the visas needed to bring in their foreign workers …

Ongoing controversies over US TSMC plant

While things started on a high, with Apple touting US-made chips for older devices in its line-up, construction of the Arizona plant isn’t going well.

There have been questions about worker safety at the site, and the project is behind schedule, and over budget. Production has already been pushed into 2025, from 2024, and there is talk of US-made chips costing more than those made in Taiwan.

To help address this, TSMC wants to bring in around 500 Taiwanese workers. The company says that these workers have experience of setting up similar plants in Taiwan, so will help with faster and more cost-effective working.

However, unions say it breaks a promise to create jobs for American workers.

Petition for EB-2 visas to be denied

Any TSMC employees brought over from Taiwan will need EB-2 visas in order to work legally in the US. These visas are intended for workers with “exceptional ability,” which would justify their employment over a US worker.

You must be able to show exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. Exceptional ability “means a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered in the sciences, arts, or business.” You must meet any requirements specified on the labor certification as applicable.

(An alternative basis for application is an advanced degree, for a job which requires one. This seems unlikely to apply to construction work, however skilled it may be.)

The Arizona Pipe Trades 469 union has started a petition to block the issuing of these visas.

I ask you to take swift action to protect American workers at TSMC’s Arizona facility from losing their jobs to foreign workers, and to block the more than 500 EB-2 visas the company has requested for construction workers.

Despite receiving large financial breaks through the CHIPS Act, TSMC has shown a lack of respect for American workers, placing profit above worker safety and deliberately misrepresenting the quality, skills and experience of Arizona’s workforce.

Replacing Arizona’s construction workers with foreign construction workers directly contradicts the very purpose for which the CHIPS Act was enacted – to create jobs for American workers. It is important that TSMC be held accountable and American workers be protected.

I ask you to use your influence to halt the EB-2 worker visas, and to make sure that American workers are given the respect, opportunities, and job security you voted for and President Biden ensured when signing the CHIPS Act.

Arizona working families are counting on you to fulfill the spirit of the CHIPS Act and protect American jobs.

A separate “Stand with American Workers” microsite has also been launched. This accuses TSMC of broken promises, insulting American workers, and trying to exploit cheap labor.

TSMC planning a plant in Germany

Separately, the Financial Times reports that TSMC is “widely expected to announce plans for a new fabrication plant” in the Saxony of Germany.

As with the Arizona plant, this relies on the availability of government subsidies for domestic chipmaking, where again overseas workers look set to be brought into the country.

Martin Dulig, Saxony’s economy minister said: “Germany faces an acute skills shortage and demographic decline. The number of working-age people will fall by 200,000 over the next 10 years.” The solution will probably be to recruit more workers from overseas.