Jerry Lee Fitzhugh

Tennessee & Wisconsin: There Are Some Differences

State political leaders say there is little chance that Republican-led moves to reduce the rights of public employee associations and unions in Tennessee will produce the level of confrontation that has drawn national attention to Wisconsin.

"Their pension plan is very different than ours. Our budget situation is very different than theirs. So I don't think you'll see anything like that here," said Gov. Bill Haslam last week.

Jerry Lee, president of the AFL-CIO in Tennessee, sees gubernatorial attitude as another difference between the Badger State and the Volunteer State.

In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker has spearheaded a confrontation with unions as part of budget-balancing efforts, leading to thousands of protesters descending on the capitol while Democratic senators fled the block a vote on Walker's proposals.

Haslam, on the other hand, has determinedly avoided taking a position on the three bills that brought about 200 pro-union protesters to the capitol last week - measure to stop collective bargaining between teachers unions and school boards, end dues deductions from government paychecks and prohibit union donations to political campaigns.

Lee said Haslam, "being the huge businessman that he is, is probably a little more laid back" than those motivated by political ideology. Besides, even if sympathetic with the bill, Lee said Haslam doesn't really need to get involved, Lee said.

"He's got these fire-in-the-belly, blood-in-their-eyes Republicans (in the Legislature) coming after the unions. He doesn't have to (lead)."

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, a Republican who is supportive of the bills, said he has been doing some "googling" internet research on differences between Wisconsin and Tennessee.

Wisconsin has a population of about 5.8 million versus 6.3 million in Tennessee, he said. Further, the total state budget there is about $57.8 billion versus $30 billion in Tennessee. The projected revenue shortfall in Wisconsin for next fiscal year is $3.6 billion compared to "somewhere between $800 million and $1 billion," Ramsey said.

Thus, he said, Wisconsin has fewer people, a bigger budget and an "almost fivefold" bigger deficit to deal with.

According to an AFL-CIO website , Tennessee's work force includes about 115,000 union members, or just 4.7 percent of workers. This apparently does not include the Tennessee Education Association, which is often called a "teachers union" but prefers the term professional association.

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