Companies based in Nashville are making the business case for immigration reform. They’re advocating on behalf of a campaign called the Partnership for a New American Economy.
The initiative is spearheaded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. It’s pushing for more temporary work visas, a new entrepreneur’s visa and green cards for college graduates in high tech fields. The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and Mayor Karl Dean have signed on as members.
Nashville-based HCA has trouble finding experienced nurses, even with unemployment at nine percent. In recent years, John Steele says the hospital chain has turned to international recruiting, but that’s been brought to a crawl because of a visa shortage.
“We still have a thousand nurses in the Philippines and India and a thousand openings here in the United States. So the math looks pretty straight forward on the surface for us.”
Right now, Gaylord Entertainment limits its international marketing to Europeans, who can visit with relative ease. CEO Colin Reed says there’s untapped potential in China and Brazil, but even wealthy travelers are limited by restrictions related to the U.S. immigration system.
“So we don’t, as a company, go to those markets to market because the pearl’s not worth the dive. It’s just very, very difficult.”
Reed says easing travel restrictions is Gaylord’s primary interest in immigration reform.
Much of the Partnership for a New American Economy focuses on work visas. Gaylord used to bring in immigrants on temporary visas to fill overnight cleaning positions. Reed says it became so much trouble that the hotel chain just increased salaries so American citizens would take the jobs. Now, Reed says the company only goes abroad to recruit ethnic chefs.
While Gaylord has curtailed its international recruiting, the company’s workforce is still diverse. Just at its Opryland hotel, CEO Colin Reed says there are more than 80 languages spoken.
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