Judging from the anti-union and anti-UAW talk we've heard from most of Tennessee's Republican politicians in the past two years, you'd think the new-jobs world was coming to an end here because the United Auto Workers Union has continued to work with Volkswagen's determination for a works council to gain a foothold in the South.
So many dire predictions, and so little proof. But more on that later.
You'll recall that in the months leading up to the February 2014 VW workers' union vote, the governor and GOP conservatives all across the state went all out to sway the final tally - complete with Grover Norquist-financed billboards equating the union with Nazis. Then on the eve of the VW/UAW vote, Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker threw in a real wrench: Grabbing every microphone and camera in Southeast Tennessee, Corker claimed the new SUV expansion here would be doomed with a yes vote to accept UAW. Thanks to the specter of no SUV expansion and 2,000 jobs hanging in the balance, the February vote failed by a hair - 712 no votes compared to 626 votes in favor on the UAW.
It later turned out that the contracted incentives Tennessee's economics officials had offered to VW for the SUV expansion were contingent on a works council/union decision that the state would find acceptable, and UAW wasn't in that acceptable frame. In fact, Gov. Bill Haslam had withdrawn the incentives package weeks before the vote, likely hoping to discourage any vote at all. Then as it became increasingly clear that the vote would be close, Corker's implied threat that a yes vote meant no SUV was really a Hail-Mary cover effort: If the vote brought in UAW and VW said here's our expansion plan now where is our state partnership (read here incentives and tax breaks), then the GOP leaders would have had to endure the public's outrage when they ended up being the cause of lost jobs when VW found it cheaper to build the SUV in Mexico.
Thus, we the public heard weeks and months of continuing and deafening noise about the end of the world and future jobs in Tennessee if prospective companies got wind that UAW and other unions were setting up shop here.
But on Monday, another truth won out: Business Facilities, a national publication focused on site selection and economic development, announced that it has named Tennessee its 2014 State of the Year for a second consecutive year. Tennessee became the first state in the award's history to win back-to-back honors for economic development efforts and the first state to win the designation three times, winning in 2014, 2013 and 2009.
All this despite state officials' end-of-world-and-jobs talk and UAW's continued push and - frankly - victory. In early December, the UAW was certified as the representative of more than 45 percent of VW's workers.
By the way, here was Gov. Haslam's reaction to the Business Facilities award. Notice the lack of gloom.
"Businesses continue to make the decision to locate, expand and grow here, and we are grateful for those strong partnerships. We will continue doing all we can to make sure we offer an attractive business climate and skilled workforce to be the No.1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs."
The award cited Tennessee's "major economic development projects" which in 2014 included "Volkswagen Group of America's Chattanooga expansion creating 2,000 jobs with an investment of $600 million," along with Under Armour's new Mount Juliet fulfillment center creating 1,500 jobs with an investment of more than $100 million, SL Tennessee's Clinton expansion creating 1,000 jobs with an $80.5 million investment and Conduit Global's new Memphis call center creating 1,000 jobs with an $8 million investment.
In courting businesses, it seems, Tennessee's economic negotiators (unlike our politicians) have steered away from trying to define right-to-work as anti-union and instead have touted the state's real pluses: a diversified growth strategy and an emphasis on infrastructure and improving education.
Substance over style - or, in this case, reality over political noise.