While statistics continue to put Tennessee near the bottom of the list among the fifty states on things like education, health, quality of life and other categories, the Volunteer State finally has something to be proud of.

According to The Tennessean, the Bureau of Labor Statistics discovered that "Tennessee unions quietly added 31,000 members in 2013, representing the largest percentage increase in union membership in the country." Specifically, Tennessee has experienced a 25% increase in union membership.

While some of the growth can be attributed to jobs spurred on by construction, it is worth noting that Local 205 also saw an increase in membership in 2013 as well.

"Tennesseans are tired of seeing political attacks on their job security, their retirement, their wages, and now their lunch breaks by radicals in the state government and Washington D.C. and they are responding by joining unions," said Doug Collier, president of SEIU Local 205. "We are committed to making sure this trend continues in 2014 so that working people have a voice in their job and can participate in the American Dream that unions have helped advance over the last century."

Read the complete story here.