Photo Credit: TnRightToWork.com
The Center Square [By Jon Styf] –
The committee advocating for a right-to-work constitutional amendment said a recent poll shows 64% of Tennesseans will vote “yes” to add the amendment to the state constitution.
The Vote Yes on 1 poll, conducted by Cygnal between Jan. 24-26, surveyed 500 likely general election voters. The poll had a margin of error of 4.34%.
Eighteen percent of those polled said they would vote against the amendment.
“We aren’t surprised that Tennesseans overwhelmingly support making right-to-work a fundamental constitutional right,” said Justin Owen, executive committee member of Yes on 1 and the president and CEO of think tank Beacon Center of Tennessee. “Tennesseans understand that voting yes on 1 will protect their First Amendment freedom of association.”
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Tennessee’s right-to-work law, in place since 1947, allows workers across the state to elect whether they would like to join a union. Without a right-to-work law, unions can require membership as a condition of employment.
Tennessee is one of 27 states with right-to-work laws, but state Republican leaders are looking to take that further by making right to work a constitutional amendment via a ballot initiative.
“The poll results prove what Tennesseans already know: that right-to-work is critical to jobs and opportunity in our state,” said Yes on 1 executive committee member Bradley Jackson, who also is the president and CEO of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce. “Amendment 1 will help keep our foot on the gas when it comes to job creation in Tennessee.”
Brandon Puttbrese, press secretary for the Tennessee Senate Democratic Caucus, said amendment opponents believe it would unfairly require unions to represent all workers, even those who do not pay dues, creating a free-rider issue by getting all the benefits of being in the union without paying dues.
“The anti-worker ballot initiative to amend Tennessee’s constitution will further destroy the freedom workers have to negotiate for better pay and benefits,” Puttbrese said. “Policies like this tip the scales of power toward big corporations. That’s not a free market – that’s market manipulation against workers, union and non-union. Tennesseans already earn $10,000 less a year than the average American worker. This amendment will only make our low-wage, no-benefit economy worse. We strongly encourage every Tennessean to vote for better wages and benefits by voting NO on Amendment 1.”
The Vote Yes on 1 survey also showed the top two issues for Tennessee voters were fighting back against federal overreach (34%) and jobs/economy (26%).
About the Author: Jon Styf, The Center Square Staff Reporter – Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies. Follow Jon on Twitter @JonStyf.
