TN AFL-CIO Responds to House Committee's Vote on Enshrining "Right to Work" in the State Constitution

After testifying before legislators, Tennessee AFL-CIO President Billy Dycus issued the following statement in response to the House Commerce Committee's vote on House Joint Resolution (HJR) 0072.

"With each subsequent approval of this dangerous resolution, the Republican supermajority continues to let its anti-worker agenda take center stage. Today’s vote in favor of HJR 0072 by the House Commerce Committee is the latest slap in the face to Tennessee’s working families who deserve real solutions to real problems, not blatant attacks on their freedom to join together. We are grateful to those legislators who stood with working families and voted ‘NO.’

During my remarks before the committee, I stressed both sponsors’ continued fixation on hypothetical situations that have happened in other states. Lawmakers of all political stripes should be focused on serving their constituents, not imaginary policy battles that may or may not make their way to Tennessee. It continues to be abundantly clear: most legislators are more concerned with protecting big business and corporate special interests than improving the lives of working families throughout Tennessee. As this unnecessary resolution now moves to the House Finance Subcommittee, we will continue to make our voices heard in opposition to this legislation and strongly encourage all Tennessee House members to do the same.”