Conservatives -- especially conservatives from Tennessee -- are always quick to claim everything is good down here in the South's plantation land where the workers are happy with minimum wage or a couple of dollars more.
And these same conservatives are even quicker to begin shouting that anyone with differing views -- especially a union -- is an "outside agitator."
So last week, one of the most conservative of the many conservatives in the Tennessee General Assembly introduced a bill that would prevent cities and metropolitan governments in the Volunteer State from recognizing or entering agreements with employee unions and rendering any "agreement, contract, understanding, or practice, written or oral, implied or expressed" between a city and a union "illegal, void and of no legal effect."
That's right. Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, would revoke county and city union contracts with police officers, firefighters, teachers and the likes. A House companion bill was introduced by Rep. Jeremy Durham, R-Franklin.
Talk about "outside agitators" -- state senators and representatives are telling city and county elected officials how to negotiate with city and county workers.
What's worse, Kelsey doesn't seem to really understand what it means that Tennessee is a right-to-work state where employees have the right to join a union or stay out of a union solely of their own volition. Instead, Kelsey seems to equate "right-to-work" with no-unions-allowed.
He defends his bill by saying: "If Tennessee wants to truly be a right-to-work state, we are going to have to apply those principles all the way down to the local level. This bill will help cities to control their budget issues by giving them the ability to negotiate directly with employees."
Chattanooga City Councilman Chris Anderson says Kelsey's legislation could negatively affect up to 3,000 workers in Chattanooga alone, and he is asking his fellow council members to pass a resolution formally denouncing Kelsey's bill.
Anderson says Kelsey is trying to tell Chattanooga -- and all cities in the state -- how to operate: "Someone who, as far as I know, has never set foot in Chattanooga believes he knows better than we do how to take care of Chattanooga business," he said.
No -- not someone who knows better. Just another knee-jerk conservative who thinks he knows all.