Tennesseans should vote yes on Amendment 1 to put right to work in constitution | Opinion

Over the next three months, you are going to hear about Amendment 1. This is a constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot on Nov. 8, giving voters the opportunity to make our right-to-work law a fundamental, constitutional right. The right-to-work law is a bedrock of Tennessee’s workplace freedoms and has been key to good-paying, high-quality jobs across our state. Unfortunately, opponents of the law are misleading voters about what it means. Given the misleading attacks against it, here are some myths versus facts about the right-to-work law and Amendment 1.

A labor worker (middle) holds a sign reading “No forced unionization” while protesting a Delaware bill. In November, Amendment 1, which would enshrine the state’s right-to-work law in the Tennessee Constitution, is on the ballot. Proponents say it simply means you cannot be forced to join a union and pay dues in order to get or keep your job.

Myth: The right-to-work law means you can be fired for any reason.

Justin Owen

This is the most common refrain from right-to-work opponents, and it is blatantly false. The right-to-work law simply means you cannot be forced to join a union and pay dues in order to get or keep your job, nothing more. What opponents are referring to with this attack is employment at will, which is completely different. It means your employment is for an indefinite time period, and either you or your employer can terminate the agreement for any reason. However, an employer still cannot wrongfully terminate any employee under various federal and state protections that include harassment, discrimination and other behaviors .

In states that don’t protect your right to work, you can be forced to hand over a portion of your hard-earned money to a union in the form of “agency fees” even if you don’t want to be a member. Without right-to-work protections, you could be required to pay more than $1,000 out of your paycheck each year even if you weren’t a member of the union just to keep your job.

Myth: Right-to-work states don’t pay workers as much.

Jim Brown

This is also false. Recent data from the official Bureau of Labor Statistics found that non-union workers saw an increase in their wages by 5.8% over the past year. The wages of union workers, on the other hand, rose by just 3.8% over that same period. Other studies have shown that right-to-work states like Tennessee, Florida and Texas have higher employment and income growth than forced unionization states like California, Illinois and New York.

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Myth: The right-to-work constitutional amendment will make it harder for workers to unionize.

Bradley Jackson

False again. The right to work is neutral on unionization; it protects the ability to be a union member as much as it does the decision not to join a union. Just as you can’t be fired for keeping your hard-earned income, you can’t be fired for joining a union and paying dues. By enshrining the right to work in the Tennessee Constitution, voters will simply be taking our existing right-to-work protections – for union and non-union members alike – and elevating them to a constitutional right.

Myth: We shouldn’t be amending our constitution except in extraordinary circumstances.

Some things are so important and embedded in Tennessee’s economic success story that they should be enshrined in our state constitution. National politicians like President Joe Biden have called for banning all state right-to-work laws, including ours. We believe that Tennesseans, not D.C. politicians, should decide whether we protect worker freedom. The Volunteer State has proudly protected this right for 75 years now. By voting “yes” on Amendment 1 this November, you can help make it a constitutional protection and preserve this Tennessee tradition for many generations to come.

Jim Brown, Bradley Jackson and Justin Owen form the executive committee of Yes on 1, the official committee formed to advocate in favor of Amendment 1, which would enshrine the right to work in the Tennessee Constitution. Learn more at www.TNRight2Work.com.  

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vote yes on Amendment 1 to put right to work in Tennessee constitution