Tennessee Is Not For Sale

Tami Shultz, a University of Tennessee Knoxville facility services staffer, had a simple and direct question for Gov. Bill Haslam.

“I was wondering why you haven’t spoken to the people yet about campus outsourcing,” she said, approaching a rattled Haslam at a dedication ceremony.  “I’m not asking for a lot, just communication.”

But Haslam isn’t talking – not to the United Campus Workers-CWA Local 3865 members whose jobs are at stake in his scheme to outsource all facilities maintenance, management, and security at state colleges and universities. Since the beginning, the governor has attempted to conduct this entire operation in secret.

So UCW-CWA members like Shultz are stopping Haslam at public appearances. They’re mobilizing massive call-in days to let the governor’s office know that the public demands a say. As the Haslam administration delivered a “business justification” presentation to state lawmakers – brazenly claiming that privatization would save the state money – protesters lined the hallway outside and unfurled three scrolls listing more than 5,000 people who had signed a petition against outsourcing. Chants of “Tennessee is not for sale!” and “Governor Haslam step off it, put people over profit!” rang up and down Legislative Plaza.

At rallies and demonstrations against Haslam’s backroom dealings, UCW-CWA has been joined by hundreds of allies including students, clergy, community activists, ATU, SEIU Local 205, the UT Diversity Matters Coalition, the Tennessee chapter of the Sierra Club, Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment, fast food and homecare workers fighting for $15, and more.

Workers and the community aren’t fooled by the empty promises of out-of-touch politicians. They know that outsourcing would certainly lead to job cuts, smaller salaries, slashed benefits, higher turnover and degraded services. They understand that privatization often does not result in big savings for the government, as hidden fees and cost overages and more add up.

“Contracted employees don’t do more with less,” Tom Anderson, UCW-CWA Local 3865 president and University of Tennessee Knoxville facilities services staffer, told lawmakers at a recent committee hearing. “They do what they’re contracted to do. Anything else you have to pay for. And they’re claiming they can do a better job with no loss of service, no job cuts, no benefit cuts, no other cuts, everything is going to be better but it’s going to cost less with no evidence to back that up. That’s just a sales job that I won’t buy.”