A "misnomer" is a wrong or inaccurate name, term or designation. "Morning sickness" is a misnomer because feelings of nausea can hit women day or night. Another example is Tennessee's constitutional Amendment 1 -- the Right-to-Work amendment. It more accurately should be called the "Muzzling of Workers and Right-to-Work for Less Amendment." Like morning sickness, it's nauseating. Here's why:
We live in a time of rising income inequality, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Furthermore, inflation is at a near 40-year high, with many working families struggling to pay bills. The minimum wage in the Volunteer State is $7.25 an hour, half the living wage in a place like Nashville. Meanwhile, CEOs of large companies make 340 times the wages of a frontline worker, a pay gap of 340:1. Despite this imbalance, some of our so-called state leaders have decided that now is the time to not only limit the little leverage workers have, but to enshrine this injustice in the Tennessee Constitution.
This is absurd. Tennessee passed Right-to-Work (for less) legislation in 1947. The law says unions have to represent you if you vote for a union, but you can choose not to pay for the services and protections provided by the union. The law was designed to tie one arm of labor behind its back. It hurts all Tennessee workers, both union and non-union. Research conducted by the Economic Policy Institute found that when union density is high, nonunion workers benefit from higher wages.
Amendment 1 doesn't change the status quo; it is simply a signal to the corporate cronies of anti-worker politicians: Do whatever you want. Get away with whatever you can. As Tennessee Sen. Sara Kyle, who opposes the change in law, said, "The true effect of this legislation is to destroy the freedom and power of collective bargaining. Collective bargaining has lifted millions of workers out of poverty and provided families with healthcare and dignity in retirement. Denying workers that right gives big corporations the upper hand."
Adding this travesty to the state constitution, a document that defines our rights, makes a mockery of justice and good government.
This "divine right of kings" act has gone on for too long. An increasing number of Tennesseans from across the political divide have had enough. This is one of the reasons why union participation is on the rise in Tennessee and across the country, and why public opinion for unions is at its highest point in nearly 60 years, with 71% of Americans expressing support in Gallup's most recent annual survey.
Unions are not just for those on the bottom rung of the wage ladder or only for those employed in manufacturing or construction. My union represents nuclear engineers at TVA; aerospace engineers at Boeing; NASA rocket scientists; judges; economists; and other highly skilled professionals.
Before I was elected to a national office in the union last year, my local union won a fight to keep hundreds of IT jobs in Tennessee that would have been shipped off to India, France and Ireland. Unionized Kellogg workers in Tennessee went on strike last fall and succeeded in keeping their company from cutting wages by $13 an hour. The lesson here is that when unions win the community wins, by keeping jobs here at home and providing families with fair wages, benefits, and safe and healthy working conditions.
Whether or not you're in a union, you, your family and your community benefit when your neighbors have a voice at the table, when worker rights are recognized and when it's not a race to the bottom.
Tennessee Constitutional Amendment 1 is about giving workers lower wages and less bargaining power. Don't settle for less. Vote "no" on Tennessee Constitutional Amendment 1.
Gay Henson, a Tennessee native, is the secretary-treasurer of the 90,000 member International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers.