www.thecentersquare.com – By Kim Jarrett | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-06-10 13:47:00
The American Legislative Exchange Council’s “States That Work” report ranks Tennessee sixth for its labor policies promoting free market and worker freedom. Tennessee inspired Georgia and Alabama to pass laws banning economic incentives for companies using non-secret ballot union votes or sharing employee data without consent. Businesses violating these rules risk repaying state subsidies. Tennessee sees 3.79% private and 18.85% public union participation, with a 20.63% workforce growth over ten years. ALEC praises Tennessee as a labor reform model attracting over 400,000 new residents recently. Arizona, Georgia, Utah, Arkansas, and Florida lead the rankings; Connecticut, New York, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Alaska rank lowest.
(The Center Square) – Tennessee took sixth place in an analysis of the state’s labor policies.
The “States That Work” report released Tuesday by the American Legislative Exchange Council ranks states based on their free market labor-friendly policies.
Tennessee was singled out as a trendsetter that inspired Georgia and Alabama to pass business-friendly laws.
The bills passed by the states banned economic development incentives from companies that conducted unionization votes with secret ballots. The companies also cannot share personal employee information with unions without obtaining consent.
“Not following these guidelines can have consequences,” the report says. “Businesses that receive state subsidies and then take unionization votes using a method other than secret ballots can be required to reimburse all “money, grants, funds, or other incentives disbursed”by the state.”
The state ranked 17th for the percentage of its workforce that participates in unions with 3.79% participating in private unions and 18.85% participating in public unions.
The government sector employs 13.3% of the state’s workforce, placing the state at ninth, according to the report. The average 10-year growth is 20.63%, which ranks the state at 12th.
“Tennessee is a Southern powerhouse for worker freedom,” said Alan Jernigan, manager of the ALEC Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force. “With universal license recognition and open pathways to opportunity, Tennessee has become a place where people come not just to live, but to thrive. More than 400,000 new residents in the past decade have voted with their feet. Tennessee is what labor reform done right looks like.”
Arizona, Georgia, Utah, Arkansas and Florida took the top five spots in the report. The states ranked last are Connecticut, New York, Oregon, Massachusetts and Alaska.
“States That Work demonstrates how states that respect worker freedom are winning the race for talent and economic growth,” said Lisa B. Nelson, CEO of ALEC. “While some are embracing reforms that empower workers and attract businesses, others are doubling down on outdated mandates that drive prosperity away. This is more than a ranking, it’s a wake-up call for lawmakers who want their state to thrive in today’s economy.”
ALEC bills itself as “America’s largest nonpartisan, voluntary membership organization of state legislators dedicated to the principles of limited government, free markets and federalism. Comprised of nearly one-quarter of the country’s state legislators and stakeholders from across the policy spectrum, ALEC members represent more than 60 million Americans and provide jobs to more than 30 million people in the United States.”
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Right-Leaning
The article primarily reports on the findings of a labor policy report published by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a group known for promoting free-market, limited-government policies often associated with conservative and right-leaning politics. While the article presents data and rankings on state labor policies without overt editorializing, the language and framing emphasize positive outcomes of “business-friendly” labor laws and “worker freedom,” which align with a right-leaning ideological stance. Additionally, the selection of quotes highlights praise for deregulation and market-driven growth, reflecting a favorable view of conservative labor policies rather than a neutral, balanced overview that might include critiques or alternative viewpoints from labor unions or more left-leaning perspectives. Thus, although it reports on ideological positions, the article’s tone and sources suggest a right-leaning bias.
SUMMARY: The Legacy Parks Foundation, partnering with Knox County and the city, is hosting a countywide Day of Play to celebrate the start of summer. The event encourages all ages to get outdoors and enjoy free activities like pickleball, hiking, ax throwing, splash pads, yoga, and guided walks across Knox County’s 228 parks. Events begin at 10 a.m. at Safety City and 11 a.m. at Carl Cowan and Beverly Park. The initiative highlights the variety of local parks, from small neighborhood spots to larger ones, promoting family fun and community engagement throughout the summer season.
Get outside and have some fun today! Summer season is here, and what better way to kick things off by getting outdoors for Knox County’s Day of Play!
Tennessee Republican lawmakers introduced a bill making it a felony for public officials to release names or details of immigration officers and future enforcement activities, targeting Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell. The bill threatens ouster under moral turpitude laws for violations. O’Connell revised a 2019 executive order requiring city employees to report contacts with federal immigration officials within 24 hours; the mayor’s office briefly posted immigration agents’ names online, which was later removed. GOP leaders argue the mayor endangers law enforcement and interferes with federal immigration efforts, prompting federal scrutiny and calls for rescinding the order. The bill allows lawful information sharing between agencies.
Tennessee Republican lawmakers unveiled legislation this week that would make it a felony for public officials to release the names of immigration officers in yet another public swipe aimed at the Democratic mayor of Nashville.
The bill, filed by a half dozen lawmakers who comprise Tennessee’s GOP House and Senate leadership, would also subject state and local officials to ouster from office under the state’s moral turpitude laws for revealing the names of immigration agents or information “related to specific future immigration enforcement operational activities.”
The bill’s filing, announced in a news release, is the latest effort by Republicans in Tennessee and members of the Trump Administration to target Mayor Freddie O’Connell, who decried mass immigration sweeps on Nashville streets in early May.
Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
“The people of Tennessee expect their elected leaders to protect law enforcement — not endanger them,” said Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson of Franklin, who is sponsoring the measure.
“When a public official like Mayor O’Connell chooses political activism over public safety, especially by interfering with federal immigration enforcement, he has no business holding office in the state,” Johnson said.
The bill, he said, “sends a message not only to Mayor O’Connell, but to any other blue-city mayor who may consider following his lead.”
Republican leaders have focused on an executive order by the mayor requiring certain city employees to report any interaction with federal immigration officials to the mayor’s office.
The order, originally issued by former Nashville Mayor David Briley in 2019, was revised by O’Connell to require reporting within 24 hours, instead of three days.
The mayor’s office then began publicly posting notes of those reports in an online spreadsheet.
The initial public posts identified three federal immigration officials by their full names and one by her first name. The posts were inadvertent and later removed, the mayor’s office said.
Trump Administration officials highlighted the posts as an effort by O’Connell to disrupt immigration enforcement activities and “dox” immigration agents. White House “border czar” Tom Homan pledged to “flood the zone” with immigration enforcement activities in Nashville in response to the mayor’s public statements condemning immigration raids.
Two Republican-led U.S. House panels — the House Judiciary and Homeland Security committees — also launched an inquiry into the response by Nashville’s mayor to federal immigration enforcement activities.
Asked Tuesday to address O’Connell’s statement that the release of immigration agent names was inadvertent, Johnson noted the bill addresses both intentional and negligent actions, calling them “unacceptable and dangerous.”
“This bill ensures that such breaches are not tolerated,” Johnson said. “Regardless of the intention behind the release of the information, public officials have a duty to protect sensitive information. Any failure to do so puts both public safety and the lives of law enforcement officers and their families at risk.”
The bill makes clear that sharing information between local, state and federal agencies to support the enforcement of immigration laws remains “fully permitted,” he said.
Johnson did not address a question about whether a mayor had a right or responsibility to ascertain whether immigration enforcement actions were taking place in his city.
O’Connell’s office did not respond to a request for comment about the bill filing Tuesday.
At the height of immigration sweeps, which took place in the heart of Nashville’s busy immigrant enclave in early May, O’Connell spoke out against the actions he said were conducted by “people who do not share our values of safety and community and have the authority to cause deep community harm.”
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Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
This article presents the facts surrounding Tennessee Republican lawmakers’ proposed legislation in a way that highlights their strong opposition to the Democratic mayor of Nashville’s immigration policies. The focus on the Republican leadership’s statements and framing of the mayor’s actions as threatening to law enforcement, along with the inclusion of language emphasizing public safety and criticism of political activism, suggests a perspective somewhat sympathetic to the Republican viewpoint. However, the article also fairly reports the mayor’s position and the context of immigration enforcement efforts, maintaining a largely factual tone without overt editorializing, placing it in the Center-Right range.
SUMMARY: The “Remember the Removal” bike ride honors Cherokee ancestors forcibly removed during the Trail of Tears. Eighteen riders from the Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians follow a 950-mile Northern Route from New Echota, GA, the old Cherokee capital, to Tahlequah, OK, the current capital. Begun in 1984, the ride combines physical endurance with cultural education, including history, language, genealogy, and traditional practices. Riders visit significant historic sites like mass graves and Blythe Ferry, reflecting on their painful legacy. Led by prayer and war cries each morning, the journey aims to reclaim and preserve Cherokee history, culture, and identity amid ongoing cultural erosion.
