Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee weighed in on the ongoing autoworkers union debate, saying that a union for workers at Chattanooga’s Volkswagen would be a bad idea.

Lee said at the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) for the second time since 2019, right before a vote failed, that unionization would not be beneficial to any party.

“I believe it would be a big mistake for those workers to risk their future by giving up the freedom to decide it themselves and hand that over to a negotiator on their behalf. I think it’d be a mistake for them to vote to join a union. We’ve seen union decline in in many places all across this country for the last decades,” Lee said.

“And we’ve seen plants close that made the decision to go union. So I hope that’s not what happens here. I think every every worker is interested in certainly their wages in their work environment and the safety and they alone can decide what that environment is. Encourage them to decide that for themselves, and to keep that under their own control.”

RELATED: Union boss escalates attacks on Governor Kay Ivey in tirade at North Carolina rally

Isaac Meadows, an assembly worker at Volkswagen and one of the volunteers who is pushing for the union, commented to WTVC in Tennessee as well:

“We’re working to form our union in order to build a more sustainable future for VW workers and our families. We know that we can improve our jobs in ways that help the long-term success of our community here in Chattanooga. This is our decision, not a decision for people who do not work in the plant, and politicians are not going to tell us what to do,” Meadows said.

The UAW has said they will be holding union votes on April 17, 18, and 19.

Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP

The counting of votes began on Monday in the second union election held at Amazon’s fulfillment center in Bessemer. The results are not expected to be released until later this week.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ordered a new election after it ruled that Amazon corrupted the first mail-in vote.

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) is again raising questions on the need for a second union vote at the Bessemer facility.

Tuberville and U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the ranking member on the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, sent a letter to Lisa Henderson, who is the NLRB regional director. The letter once again asks about the motivations behind ordering a second union election. The senators sent a similar letter last month.

The letter expresses unhappiness with the response to their previous letter and added additional questions about the process of the NLRB in deciding to call for a new election in Bessemer.

“Instead of receiving a reply from you, a congressional affairs staffer in Washington, D.C. answered our letter, which answered none of our questions,” reads the letter. “Such disregard of our letter also adds to our concern that the Order is being driven by NLRB’s Washington, D.C. headquarters and General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo. Therefore, we write again with additional questions about your Order and Decision mandating a re-run election for the RWDSU union, in particular, the extent of your communications with NLRB’s headquarters.”

The senators also questioned the actions of NLRB general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, who they believe showed “blatant political overtones” in her memoranda about the previous union election.

“Ms. Abruzzo has made clear her intention to interfere politically with the decisions of the Regional Directorates,” the letter continues. “This raises concerns that the Order resorting to the extraordinary remedy of a re-run election at Amazon’s Bessemer distribution warehouse is less about improper employer interference, and more about Ms. Abruzzo’s need to guarantee a particular result. In addition, interference by the NLRB’s headquarters in answering oversight requests addressed to Regional Directors, and Regional Directors only, amplifies our skepticism of the Board’s impartiality.”

Tuberville has repeatedly spoken out against any effort to unionize Amazon workers in Alabama.

After the last vote, Tuberville said, “As workers across the country and in Bessemer have demonstrated, they value their Right to Work protections and I’ll continue to be a strong voice for their rights in the Senate.”

The NLRB has not yet responded to the Senators in this matter.

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” Weekdays 9-11am on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee

7. Alabama House of Representatives passes constitutional carry

• After four years and a bleak outlook for passage, constitutional carry passed overwhelmingly in the State House. Opponents cited the loss of revenue and how law enforcement used the permits to take illegal guns off the street, while supporters of the bill note that a new database of people forbidden to carry firearms will offset the need for permits in traffic stops.

• The bill now goes to the Alabama State Senate where a similar bill has already passed out of committee and is expected to pass in some form. State Representative Shane Stringer (R-Citronelle), a former member of law enforcement and sponsor of the bill, noted that 21 other states have passed a similar bill and not one has repealed it.

6. Anti-riot bill passes the House

• The Alabama House of Representatives passed an anti-riot bill introduced by State Representative Allen Treadaway (R-Morris). The bill would require mandatory jail time for rioting but has been criticized as being unconstitutional.

• Treadaway argued that the riots from 2020 make this legislation more necessary. He advised, “You’ve got groups that are coming in that are well-financed, well organized, and coming in hijacking what for the most part would be a peaceful protest…we seem to have folks come in hellbent on hijacking and hellbent on destruction.”

5. Wahl defends the decision to remove some candidates from the ballot

• Alabama Republican Party chair John Wahl explained the recent decision to remove three candidates from the Republican primary ballot, which included Anson Knowles running for House District 10, Teresa Rhea running for Senate District 10 and Tripp Powell running for Senate District 21.

• Wahl said that this was part of an effort to keep the Republican primary ballots “pure” and clarified that he does not vote in the decisions to remove candidates. Some actions that cause removal is involvement or donating to Democrat campaigns. Wahl has said that “we’re very much committed to following state laws and our internal bylaws. That’s where we’re at right now.” Strangely, Alabama GOP bylaws also have rules against taking money from the AEA, and those candidates remain on the ballot even though many believe that support is impeding “school choice” bills Republicans largely support.

4. The union will complain until it wins, the NLRB may help them in Amazon vote

• The Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Union (RWDSU) has alleged that Amazon is once again interfering in the election on whether to unionize at the fulfillment center in Bessemer. RWDSU has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.

• Ballots have already been mailed to employees and aren’t due until March 28. RWDSU claims that Amazon is holding mandatory meetings to push an anti-labor message, they’re limiting employee time inside the facility before and after shifts, and they’ve removed labor literature from employee spaces.

3. Ivey wants answers on basketball forfeit 3 days too late

• After the Oakwood Academy, a Seventh-day Adventist school, was forced to forfeit a game against the Faith Christian school for the Class 1A Northeast Regional boys semifinal, Governor Kay Ivey is now seeking further answers on the decision by the Alabama High School Athletic Association to not move the game to accommodate Oakwood Academy.

• In her letter, Ivey said, “[F]ew things are more important to Alabamians than their faith.” She added, “With all this in mind, I hope you’ll understand why I was most disturb to read Oakwood’s alleged treatment at the AHSAA’s basketball tournament – and why this episode raises some very pressing questions, not only for me but for public officials and citizens across our great state.”

2. Tuberville says no United States troops should be sent to Ukraine

• U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has criticized the decision to delay sanctions on Russia, saying it should’ve happened ”six months ago to just kind of let them know, hey, this is what’s going to affect. This is how it’s going to feel.” Tuberville added, “If you put sanctions on after the fact, they’re not going to turn around and backtrack from where they came from. They’re going to stay where they’re at.”

• Tuberville did say that assistance should be given to Ukraine, but “we don’t need to spill one drop of blood.” He continued, “This is really not our fight. NATO needs the support and, of course, we’re a NATO country. But this is more of a European NATO fight than ours.”

1. White House: Russia has invaded Ukraine; Sanctions announced

• President Joe Biden and the White House have officially said that Russia has invaded Ukraine. This was an expected move after Russian President Vladimir Putin had recognized the independence of some regions in Ukraine. Shortly after it was declared an invasion, Biden announced sanctions on Russia.

• Despite Russia’s movements, Biden has maintained that there will be no United States troops sent into Ukraine to fight Russia. Biden indicated that he expects Putin to attempt to forcefully gain control of Ukraine. The president said that Putin’s actions are “a flagrant violation of international law and demands a firm response from the international community.” Biden said that the sanctions “cut off Russia’s government from Western financing.” He added, “It can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade in its new debt on our markets or European markets either.”

In a major blow to President Joe Biden, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and others on the national left, thousands of employees at Amazon’s state-of-the-art fulfillment center in Bessemer have overwhelmingly voted against joining the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).

The balloting began in February and wrapped up on March 31. The National Labor Relations Board then conducted a ballot-by-ballot public vote count on Thursday and Friday, which showed a blowout result against unionizing.

The “no” votes crossed the threshold needed to clinch the win at approximately 9:55 a.m. on Friday. At that point and for most of the count, the “no” votes were garnering more than 70% of ballots recorded.

RWDSU, which is based in New York, did not even wait until the vote count was halfway through on Thursday to begin questioning the integrity of the election — and thus seemingly disrespecting the vast majority of the Amazon employees’ choice not to join them. One complaint RWDSU has made revolves around a USPS-installed ballot dropbox outside of the Bessemer Amazon facility; that dropbox made it easier for employees to return their ballots, however, the union opposed its existence. RWDSU had already signaled on Thursday that they would attempt to have the election results overturned and the employees’ votes thrown out. (more…)

Democratic socialist U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is scheduled to visit Alabama this Friday, a spokesperson told media outlets on Wednesday morning.

Sanders will travel to meet with Amazon employees in Bessemer, reports advised.

When Sanders traveled to Birmingham during the 2020 presidential campaign cycle, he vowed to end Alabama’s right-to-work status, which has been codified in state law since 1953.

However, even though he was not elected president, Sanders is still on the attack. And he has apparently found an ally in President Joe Biden, who previously weighed in on the ongoing unionization vote in Bessemer. (more…)

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) on Tuesday took to the floor of the United States Senate to speak out against the so-called Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.

Tuberville made it clear that he feels this bill passed by House Democrats would override states’ right to work laws — such as Alabama’s — and force millions of workers to join a union.

“The PRO Act represents a massive power grab by the Democrats here in Washington, D.C. to override the will of the voters and state legislatures in a majority of the states in this country,” said Alabama’s junior senator. “Democrats want to force their ideas on states that refuse to adopt their progressive, failed policies. Federal power grabs like these are unconstitutional and go against our entire system of government. The PRO Act would overrule the Right to Work laws across the country and force tens of millions of employees to join a union.” (more…)

San Francisco resident and famed Hollywood actor Danny Glover will be in Alabama on Monday to support the unionization drive at Amazon’s Bessemer facility.

Glover will be the guest of the New York City-based Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), which would be the entity workers join if the ongoing unionization vote passes.

In addition to his acting career, Glover is well known across the nation as an activist who supports left-wing causes. His mobilization to encourage Amazon workers in Alabama to vote “yes” on unionizing should specifically come as no surprise; Glover is an ardent supporter of Democratic socialist Senator Bernie (I-VT), who has been backing the effort. (more…)

Backed by a national labor union and Democratic socialist U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a notice has been filed informing the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that there is an attempt underway to unionize Amazon’s state-of-the-art fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama.

This facility outside of Birmingham just opened earlier this year, employing more than 1,500 full-time associates who pick, pack and ship essential items to customers.

On top of Amazon’s $15 minimum wage, the company offers industry-leading benefits to full-time employees, which include comprehensive healthcare from day one, 401(k) with 50% match, up to 20 weeks paid parental leave and Amazon’s innovative Career Choice program, which pre-pays 95% of tuition for courses in high-demand fields. Since the program’s launch four years ago, more than 25,000 employees have pursued degrees in game design and visual communications, nursing, IT programming and radiology, just to name a few.

Per the latest available data from the Alabama Department of Labor, Bessemer has the third-highest rate of unemployment among the state’s major cities. (more…)

Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06) on Thursday voted against the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, H.R. 2474.

The bill passed the House 224-194 and now moves to the Senate. None of Alabama’s House delegation voted in favor of the legislation.

U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers (AL-03), Robert Aderholt (AL-04) and Mo Brooks (AL-05) joined Palmer in voting “no.” Reps. Bradley Byrne (AL-01), Martha Roby (AL-02) and Terri Sewell (AL-07) were recorded as not having voted.

In a release from his office following the vote, Palmer expressed that he views the act as harmful legislation that would make sweeping reforms to labor relations laws, weakening workers’ positions and bowing to the political demands of labor union leaders. (more…)

December 14, 1819

Alabama became the 22nd state on Dec. 14, 1819, the only state added to the United States that year. The young United States acquired the British claims to all lands east of the Mississippi River, including present-day Alabama, as part of the treaty that ended the American Revolution. Alabama was originally part of the Mississippi Territory, which up until then was claimed by the colony of Georgia. Under pressure from white Southerners to see two slave states emerge, Congress created the Alabama Territory out of the eastern half of the Mississippi Territory on March 3, 1817. William Wyatt Bibb was named governor. The population grew rapidly, which led to petitions for statehood, which was granted two years later.
(more…)

Since violence erupted following a demonstration by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia last Saturday, calls for the destruction of Confederate monuments across the country have become louder. Some protestors are going so far as to tear them down themselves.

As we reported Tuesday, Birmingham Mayor William Bell joined that effort, ordering the Confederate monument at Linn Park to be covered until legal options for its removal could be considered, and yesterday Attorney General Steve Marshall sued Bell, asserting his move violates  Alabama Memorial Preservation Act.

Bell doubled down yesterday, inferring that the statue was the equivalent of a Nazi symbol. Speaking to the media, he called Birmingham’s Memorial “divisive” and added the rhetorical question, “Would we have a statue of Hitler here in this community. . . I don’t think so, so that’s our position.”

Needless to say, even most who disagree with the justification of the Confederacy would never attempt to compare it to the Third Reich, who systematically exterminated six million Jews and killed as many as seven million Soviets in their 1940’s reign of terror.

Some of Alabama’s political insiders see Bell’s move as an attempt to bolster his reelection bid for Birmingham’s mayoral vote next week, on August 22nd. “Look, I’m sure Mayor Bell dislikes the monument, and I don’t think anyone questions his sincerely held belief,” said one analyst who wished to remain anonymous. “The reality is, though, that statue has been standing there since the day Mr. Bell took office, so to cover it up a week before the election certainly makes it look like a politically motivated tactic. And, hey, it’s a smart one. He knew it would generate tons of earned media and the support of his Democratic base in Birmingham. Viewing it through a political lens, you can’t blame the guy for taking advantage of the opportunity the Charlottesville mess presented…you just kinda hate to see this important debate get relegated to campaign tactics, but I don’t think anyone is surprised, most folks just see it for what it is,” he concluded.

To see Mayor Bell’s full statements skip to 4:00 on the video.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) bounced between interviews Wednesday afternoon, fresh off of his star turn on the big stage the night before when the Republican National Convention’s theme was “Make America Safe Again.”

No subject could have been more fitting for Alabama’s junior senator, who has spent much of the last decade sounding the alarm that “open borders” could leave the United States vulnerable to attack — from both terrorists and illegal immigrants.

Many would argue he has been proven right.

In one particularly heart-wrenching example, 32-year-old Kate Steinle was murdered on a pier in San Francisco by an illegal alien who had been convicted of seven felonies but was continuously released back onto the streets.

Sessions invited her father to testify before a U.S. Senate committee last year while the body was considering a bill to crack down on “sanctuary cities.”

“We were walking arm-in-arm on Pier 14 in San Francisco enjoying a wonderful day together,” Mr. Steinle testified. “Suddenly a shot rang out, Kate fell, and looked at me and said ‘Help me, Dad.’ Those are the last words I will ever hear from my daughter.”

It is the Steinles and countless other families around the country who have been negatively impacted by U.S. immigration and border policies for whom Sessions sees himself fighting.

Who he’s fighting against is often a little more abstract. Although they sometimes have names — Obama and Clinton or Zuckerberg and Gates — they are usually referred to more broadly as simply the “Masters of the Universe.”

As a constant reminder of this, above Sessions’ desk in his Capitol Hill office hangs a drawing of He-Man and Battle Cat from the 1980s comic book series and cartoon of the same name.

“(O)ur greatest ‘Masters of the Universe,’ as I like to refer to them, have joined… (together) to share their wisdom from on high and to tell us in Congress how to do our business,” Sessions declared on the Senate floor in 2014 in the midst of a tense fight over so called comprehensive immigration reform. “Sheldon Adelson… Warren Buffett… and Bill Gates… all super billionaires, aren’t happy, apparently. They don’t have much respect for Congress, and by indirection the people who elect people to Congress… Those three billionaires have three votes. The individual who works stocking the shelves at the grocery store, the barber, the doctor, the lawyer, the cleaners operator, and the person who picks up our garbage are every bit as valuable as they are. So I know who I represent. I represent citizens of the United States of America.”

But while Sessions’ clashes with immigration advocates have become high profile affairs in recent years–and foreshadowed the Trump phenomenon–that has not always been the case. In 2007, with a Republican president pushing immigration reform along with members of his own party in both houses, Sessions made a sometimes lonely stand.

He won.

And to this day, just below the “Masters of the Universe” drawing hangs an excerpt from the remarks Sessions delivered on the Senate floor just before the vote that sent the bill going down in flames.

“No one small group of people have a right to meet in secret with special-interest groups and write an immigration bill and ram it down the throat of this Senate,” he said. “I oppose it. It is not right.”

But in spite of the legislative victories, President Obama has used–and Sessions would argue abused–his executive power to grant de facto amnesty to wide swaths of illegal immigrants. This has led many Trump supporters to fantasize about what it might look like for Sessions to transition out of his role as the Senate’s conservative elder statesman and into a Trump Cabinet post atop the Department of Homeland Security.

If the billionaire businessman makes it to the Oval Office, it very well could go from fantasy to reality, although the always humble Sessions dismisses such ideas offhand.

That does not mean, however, that he has not thought at great length about what needs to change inside the third largest Cabinet department (trailing only the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs).

“A lot of things need to be done immediately,” Sessions told Yellowhammer at the Republican National Convention. “Sadly, the Department is one of the largest in the federal government, but they have the lowest morale of all the major agencies, and have for several years.”

The head of the border patrol agents union has said that current DHS leadership is “punishing law enforcement officers who are just trying to uphold U.S. law,” and is “willing to take away their retirement, their job, their ability to support their families in favor of someone who is here illegally and violating our laws…either taking a disciplinary action [or] threat[ening] disciplinary action.”

The vice president of the National Border Patrol Council testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that, “(Border Patrol) agents who repeatedly report groups (of illegal aliens) larger than 20 face retribution. Management will either take them out of the field and assign them to processing detainees at the station or assign them to a fixed position in low volume areas as punishment. Needless to say agents got the message and now stay below this 20 person threshold no matter the actual size of the group.”

As a result, in addition to the victims mentioned above, Sessions has also become a champion of immigration and customs agents.

“The agents in that organization sued their supervisors and the Secretary of Homeland Security basically saying, ‘You’re ordering us to violate our oath and violate the law,'” Sessions explained. “I’ve never heard of that before — suing your boss for not letting you do your job! That’s the level of disfunction.

“So the first thing that needs to happen is that those officers need to be rallied, respected and empowered,” he continued. “Let’s put them to work. They’re ready. Let’s build a wall and the barriers we need, empower the officers, back them up with tough prosecutors, and deport the people who are caught here illegally.”

Sessions believes that such an approach would completely revolutionize Homeland Security and drastically change the way the U.S. is viewed by would-be illegal entrants.

“We would immediately send a message to the world that the border is no longer open,” he concluded. “I guarantee you we would see a major reduction in attempts to enter the country illegally, because right now many people are just coming because they believe–often rightly–that they’ll get away with it.”

Six months from today a new president will be sworn into office, and he or she will presumably bring an entirely new Cabinet with them. Whether Sessions ends up being offered such a post remains to be seen. But you can bet the “Masters of the Universe” will be holding their breath as the process unfolds.

RELATED:
1. Inside Trump’s VP search: Two Alabamians made the list, and one may be a surprise
2. Sessions at RNC: Hillary’s plan is ‘more govt., more taxes, more regs, more illegals, more debt’
3. Watch Alabama officially cast its votes for Trump as the ALGOP chair yells ‘War Eagle!’

The Center for Automotive Research compiled estimates of the hourly labor costs, including wages, benefits, and legacy costs at each of the major U.S. automakers. So, while the numbers below may not be the exact amount on a worker’s paycheck at the end of every pay period, it is a reflection of the many types of compensation a worker would receive at that employer.

Labor costs per employee at Daimler AG in Alabama average $65 per hour, including benefits, compared to the $58 per hour at GM, $57 per hour at Ford, and $48 per hour at Fiat Chrysler, all of which are highly-unionized.

In last place are BMW compensating only $39 per hour, and Volkswagon AG at $38 per hour.

Alabama’s other major automotive manufacturers, Honda and Hyundai came in at $48 and $41, respectively.

The United Auto Workers union has long targeted Mercedes as its next conquest. A vote to unionize the Vance plant was narrowly defeated in 2014.

Alabama is a right to work state, meaning that employers can’t require union membership as a condition of employment. However, if unionization of the Mercedes plant had been successful all workers would, by requirement of contract, be represented by the UAW, not just those who are union members. Right-to-work advocates say this caveat strips the rights of workers who wish not to be a member of a union, and silences their voices.

Unions were once widely viewed as a positive voice for workers who did not have the ability to stand up for themselves. But as workplaces became safer and wages more fair, unions started shifting from workplace representation to heavy political involvement to accomplish their goals. At only 7% of the private workforce, unions are now a shadow of their former selves, although they remain a powerful bloc in the Democratic Party.

Between the Mercedes, Honda, and Hyundai plants, Alabama has become a strong player in automotive manufacturing and the state’s right-to-work laws are often credited with having played a major part in that. As president and founder of Union Conservatives, Terry Bowman, stressed during a visit to Birmingham last year that UAW representation for Alabama’s auto manufacturers would not only be a blow to current jobs, but also to the state’s ability to attract new companies.

Several companies have cited Alabama’s status as a right-to-work state as a key reason they relocated to the state, particularly Airbus and Remington.

Like this article? Hate it? Follow me and let me know how you feel on Twitter!

— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015

USCIS, a union that represents roughly 12,000 officers in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, made waves this week when it disclosed that the U.S. government had ordered enough supplies to make roughly 34 million immigrant work permits and residency cards, presumably to meet needs that could be brought on by President Obama’s seemingly imminent executive amnesty order.

According to Fox News, “The U.S. government produces about 3 million work permits and residency identification, known as green cards, annually. The new contract for at least 5 million cards a year would provide the administration with the flexibility to issue far more work permits or green cards even if it chose not to exercise that option.”

The Obama administration claims the order had nothing to do with any executive action plans, but relates to the so-called “Gang of Eight” comprehensive immigration reform bill that passed the Senate but stalled in the House.

“Solicitations of this nature are frequent practice for USCIS contracts and allow the Agency to be prepared for fluctuations in the number of immigration applications received, which can arise for a number of reasons,” administration spokesman Christopher Bentley said in a statement. “For this particular solicitation, USCIS analyzed, during the spring of 2013, the pending comprehensive immigration reform bill passed by the U.S. Senate to determine the surge capacity needed. This estimate had nothing to do with immigration relief actions planned by the president.”

But Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) isn’t buying the administration’s explanation.

On Tuesday, Sessions, who has been the leading voice against Democrats’ immigration proposals in recent years, sounded the alarm over the solicitation for 34 million green cards and work permits, which he believes are indeed to institute executive immigration orders.

“This revelation provides startling confirmation of the crisis facing our Republic,” Sessions said. “The President is preparing to issue work authorization and ‘legal’ status to millions of individuals illegally present in the country, in violation of plain statute. His planned executive immigration order will nullify the immigration laws of the United States and its sovereign people. But rather than defend the legal rights and jobs of their constituents, Senate Democrats have surrendered them to this lawless scheme. The remedy lies in the hands of the voting public.”

The dustup comes just a week before election day, when Americans will decide who controls the U.S. Senate. Republicans need to pickup 6 seats to regain the majority.

Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims

(Above: Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle visits “The Exchange”)

Yellowhammer CEO Cliff Sims sat down with Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle yesterday to discuss a wide range of issues — from how Sen. Richard Shelby, R- Ala., saved the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) to the fact the LCS inspired a character in Disney’s Cars 2, which brought in over a half-billion dollars at the box office.

Perciavalle raved about the advantages of doing business in the state of Alabama. Austal employees approx. 4,000 Alabamians in the Mobile area. He said the state will likely continue to attract international companies like Austal and Airbus who are looking for a low-tax, business-friendly place to do business in America.

But there were two specific things Austal’s president mentioned that make Alabama an especially attractive place to locate. One of them is Alabama’s status as a right-to-work state.

“That’s probably the second leading attractive part of being in the state of Alabama — a right-to-work state,” Perciavalle said. “At the end of the day, we focus on treating our employees right and creating a very good work environment for them.”

Austal employees have voted to reject three attempts by the Sheet Metal Workers’ Union to unionize the plant — in 2002, 2008 and most recently in 2011.

Want to find out what Perciavalle believes is the most attractive part of doing business in Alabama? Come back to Yellowhammer Sunday morning to see Perciavalle’s complete interview in “The Exchange.”

RELATED: The Exchange ft. Special Guest Steve Forbes

Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims

Boeing CEO James McNerney, Jr. and University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban don’t make a combined $20 million a year because they’re dummies.

University of Alabama Chancellor Robert Witt called Saban “the best financial investment [Alabama] has ever made.” Forbes estimates the University of Alabama has garnered a $100 million return on the product Saban has produced on the field. “In fact, Saban has brought a 112% revenue increase to Alabama’s athletics department since he became head coach at the school,” Darren Heitner of Forbes wrote yesterday.

McNerney oversees the world’s largest aerospace company, worth over $60 billion. If every Boeing employee lived in the same city, it would be the fifth largest city in Alabama, with over 160,000 residents.

So outside of being über successful, what do these two men have in common?

They’re both playing Alabama right now — Saban, the University of Alabama; and McNerney, the state of Alabama.

Saban has been at the center of a torrent of rumors in recent weeks about the head coaching job at the Univ. of Texas. I’d argue that Alabama is the greatest football program in the history of college athletics, but even the Tide can’t compete with the ocean of money the Longhorns are floating on.

Now, Saban hasn’t stoked the Texas rumors, but he hasn’t definitively squashed them either. Saban’s agent Jimmy Sexton is the master of playing schools against each other. A school starts feeling like their beloved coach might leave and, next thing you know, the school opens their wallet at an unprecedented level to keep it from happening.

Well played, Coach!

Up in Seattle, Washington, McNerney is playing a similar game with the machinists union.

The union rejected a long-term labor deal proposed by Boeing several weeks ago, compelling McNerney to open up a nationwide competition among states trying to become home to a new Boeing plant that will bring 8,500 jobs with it.

This is a bit unusual. Big development projects are typically kept under wraps and out of the public eye until they’re signed and ready to go. Individuals who knew about Alabama’s Airbus deal were sworn to secrecy for months.

So why would Boeing get people so ginned up?

Because in reality, they’d probably like to stay in Washington. They just need to create the impression they’re leaving to get the union to agree to a deal that makes it possible.

And it looks like it’s working. The union already submitted a new proposal to Boeing yesterday.

Well played, Boeing!

Nick Saban might take the Texas job tomorrow (oh, sweet Lord, don’t let it happen!). But in reality, he’s probably going to get himself a well-deserved raise and finish his career at Alabama.

Similarly, Boeing might end up building their new plant in Huntsville (oh, sweet Lord, bring ’em on down!). But in reality, they’re probably going to get themselves a deal with the union that they can stomach and stay in Washington.

Alabama may be on different ends of these two scenarios, but in both cases we’re probably getting played.

Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims