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When voters cast their ballots this election, they’ll have the chance to weigh in on four potential amendments to Tennessee’s constitution. The first would enshrine the state’s “right-to-work” law which deals with employment rules.

Here’s a breakdown of what that term means, and who’s for and against the amendment.

Defining ‘right-to-work’

In Tennessee, workers can’t be forced to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of their employment. They also can’t be denied work for opting into a union, according to the state law.

Here’s the language of the current policy:

“It is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or association of any kind to deny or attempt to deny employment to any person by reason of the person’s membership in, affiliation with, resignation from, or refusal to join or affiliate with any labor union or employee organization of any kind.”

This law has been on the books for 75 years, and that’s what people refer to when they say “right-to-work” law.

Amendment 1 proponents say workers should be allowed to choose

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton says it’s an important option for workers.

“If you don’t have the right to work, you know, the school systems could require every teacher to join the union in order to work in that school system,” Sexton says. “And so all we’re saying is it should be up to the individual person to make that decision if they want to join it or not.”

Even if Amendment 1 fails, Tennessee’s current “right-to-work” law...

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