Workers are David against the Goliath that’s Tennessee.

Last Monday, a few of us pro-worker folks gathered near Chattanooga’s Volkswagen factory to counter some Tennessee-style union busting. Which is to say, we held up signs while Republican elected officials held a press conference. They were warning VW’s hourly employees not to join the United Auto Workers when it comes up for a vote April 17–19.

That hasn’t happened at other UAW shops in the South, like GM’s plants in Spring Hill, Tennessee, and Arlington, Texas, or Ford’s two plants in Louisville, Kentucky. But Tennessee’s Republican politicians rarely let facts get in the way of their fearmongering. 

My state rep went beyond the predictable warning that a unionized VW plant would turn Chattanooga into Detroit; he suggested Chattanooga would become like “Chicago, New York City, and other progressive cities across our country.” Does that mean we’ll finally get an IKEA? 

He continued, “I believe the right choice is to keep our state’s pro-business policies and Volunteer Spirit where workers can stand on their own and make their own decisions and determine their own future—all of which help companies and citizens thrive in our state.” Which raises so many questions.

When did our Republican legislators start caring about choice and self-determination? (Tennessee women would like a word.) 

Does making your own decisions extend to casting a private vote inside your workplace without your state legislators and county mayor holding a press conference outside your workplace, telling you how to vote? 

Does “Volunteer Spirit” mean volunteering to not stand up for yourself? Or to only stand up for yourself by yourself, like David against Goliath? 

Where’s the evidence that citizens are thriving under Tennessee’s pro-business policies? Wealthy corporations are thriving, but Tennesseans are struggling by every measure related to poverty and poor health.

The point was also raised (I saw it coming) that in 2022, most Tennesseans voted to add a Right to Work amendment to the state constitution. Of course they did. 

But would they have voted for the more accurately named Right to Work in a Unionized Workplace and Receive Union Protections without Paying Union Dues amendment? How about a Right to be Fired without Cause amendment? That’s accurate too, and shorter.

Seems like a good time to mention that in Tennessee, ballot amendments must be initiated by state legislators. They’re given friendly names, phrased to elicit “yes” votes, and marketed to voters through slick ad campaigns funded by special interest groups and ultra-wealthy people. Tennessee’s billionaire Governor Bills—Lee and Haslam—were the smiling faces of the Right to Work campaign.

In 26 states, ordinary people can put an issue on the ballot by gathering signatures on a petition. Granted, it takes a lot of signatures and boots on the ground. But that’s how voters in states like Ohio have protected abortion rights and legalized marijuana.  

Never underestimate the value of organizing. Or the strength of people power.

Allison
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