Mount Virtus

Just in case you want to hear another recap of Colorado’s recent ballot battles - specifically, Big Labor’s well-heeled campaign to sink Amendments 47, 49, and 54 - I was the guest on an Evergreen Freedom Foundation podcast with Scott Dilley to explain just that very thing to the primarily out-of-state audience:

I know, it’s not exactly “DeGrow Gone Wild” on the podcast. But what did you expect? Anyway, moving on now….

Update: Link added below

First, there was the real-life absurd “Godzilla” flyer created by Protect Colorado’s Future. Then the Denver Metro Young Republicans fired back with the “Kittens for Amendments 47, 49, and 54″ ad - famously featured in the sidebar of today’s Rocky Mountain News print edition Rocky Mountain News Stump blog.

To keep the spirit alive, here’s my own contribution to the cause:

*WARNING* Satire *WARNING* Satire *WARNING*

Face The State reports on the poster child for Amendment 47:

Ernest Duran, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, paid himself and two of his children combined salaries of over $430,000 in 2007.

Duran collected a salary of $162,368 for 2007, according to records with the U.S. Department of Labor. Two of Duran’s children also work for the UFCW Local 7. His daughter Crisanta Duran, an associate counsel, pulled in $133,410 in 2007. His son, Ernie Duran, III, earned $134,378 in 2007 as an executive staffer. According to Salary.com, a Denver-area grocery cashier can earn about $24,377 annually, an assistant manager at the same store earns approximately $48,950, and a store manager earns about $66,800 a year.

The Durans’ salaries are funded by dues from the union’s 20,000 members. [Ben's note: And agency fee payers who never chose to join.] Members include Dominic Brazzale, 18, who graduated high school earlier this year and got a summer job working at the Safeway at 80th and Wadsworth. He worked there for about just over four months before quitting. Two months into the job, Brazzale’s boss approached him with a union contract and told him he had to sign. “My boss told me they take money from him, too and it sucks, but you have to sign it.”

Too bad Amendment 47, also known as Right-to-Work, looks to be doomed in the polls. It is, however, instructive to note that the Durans’ UFCW has pumped nearly $6 million into the anti-47 campaign - which has even used the money illegally to attack other ballot amendments, as well.
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The Rocky Mountain News reports on a complaint filed yesterday by Amendment 49 supporters:

Backers of Amendment 49, which would prohibit union dues from being deducted from public payrolls, have filed a complaint with the Colorado secretary of state alleging that an opposing group failed to disclose its intention to campaign against them.

Instead, Coloradans For Middle Class Relief states in its registration with the secretary of state that it would campaign against Amendment 47, according to the complaint by Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute and author of Amendment 49. But Caldara said Coloradans For Middle Class Relief has sent out fliers on other ballot measures as well, including Amendments 49 and 54.

The Denver Post has a similar story. Both merit a “no comment” from the group caught in violation of campaign finance laws.

Pictures of the Coloradans for Middle Class Relief flyers that illegally attack 49 and 54 can be seen here and here (back and front). In fact, you probably received one or both at your home.

The union lobbyist-funded committees have more money than they know what to do with. Between Protect Colorado’s Future and Coloradans for Middle Class Relief, more than $20 million has been raised to attack Amendment 49 (Ethical Standards) and two other initiatives.

With that kind of money, it’s quite easy for union lobbyists to flout the law and ask forgiveness later. They can’t afford to have Amendment 49 pass, which would mean giving up their free government collection service and put them on a level playing field with every other special interest group. Political power indeed corrupts.

In this case, the flagrant breaking of campaign laws simply points out the need for Ethical Standards. But by the time the truth can have a fair hearing, it may be too late.

As reported in the Denver Post, this is the kind of story that Big Labor would rather sweep under the rug. A union attorney exposed for his racist, vulgar email messages sent to Ryan Frazier, a leading supporter of Amendment 47, and also (apparently) for practicing law in Colorado without a license. It wasn’t like the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) had much choice but to get rid of DeAngelo Starnes - otherwise a natural ideological fit.

It is not insignificant to note that UFCW has spent nearly $5 million on state issue campaigns this year - mostly to fight Amendment 47 (Right-to-Work) but also to spread lies about Amendment 49 (Ethical Standards) and Amendment 54 (Government Contracting Reform). Only the National Education Association has spent nearly as much money fighting these pro-worker and good government initiatives.

For snide commentary on Mr. Starnes’ ignominious showing in today’s Post, read the Drunkablog.

Another prominent, respected Colorado voice joins the chorus of those denouncing the nonsensical attacks against Amendments 47, 49, and 54. Former state treasurer Mark Hillman makes a couple of terrific points in his piece:

Amendment 49 (”ethical standards”) prohibits state and local governments from intercepting a worker’s paycheck to collect dues or contributions for unions, lobbyists or any other special interest. It simply requires all interest groups to ask supporters directly for their contribution, rather than use government payroll systems as their collection agency.

Groups from the National Rifle Association to the Sierra Club rely on voluntary contributions, so why can’t labor unions and other special interests?

And:

Then there’s the whopper by the “Coloradans for Middle Class Relief” that claims “a few rich owners” – “Big Bad Wolf” was already taken — want to pass these amendments so they can “cut wages and reduce health care for their employees.”

What stops those greedy owners from treating their employees like indentured servants today? The good old profit motive, of course. It’s tough to sell goods and services without productive, properly compensated employees.

The Denver Post called the union attacks dishonest, noting that Amendment 47 “does not in any way prevent unions from organizing and collecting dues from willing employees.” The Post also pointed out that the firefighter in the commercial works in a department where union membership is voluntary.

It’s nice to be able to cut through the white noise and lies of Protect Colorado Future’s outrageous political spin. Only eight more days. We can only hope for Ethical Standards (Amendment 49) and these other good ideas to prevail over the deception.

(Disclosure: I also happen to work for the Independence Institute, which is a chief supporter of Amendment 49.)

While early and mail-in voting continues, I once again have made a couple small updates to Ben’s Colorado Ballot Guide 2008 - including a new link. Check it out, and share the word with any voters still uninformed or undecided about the 14 issues on the statewide ballot.

Dave Ohmart, the unofficial “non-union rep” for Colorado state government, finally has his Colorado Loses website up and running. Look for newsletters, events, and relevant legal information pertaining to employee rights in state government.

Colorado Loses is the clever foil to the Colorado WINS union organizing coalition:

Colorado WINS, the big state employee union, recently held a convention. Union loyalists were shown a video depicting flood and famine – images from the Gulf Coast of slums, Hurricane-ravaged homes and the like. The moral of the story: state employees are the only line of defense Colorado has against, uh, Hurricanes. No, floods. Wait, I’m confused.

Hurricane Katrina was a tragedy, but it has nothing to do with our state government. Nor does the healthy dose of Bush-bashing members partook in, either. It’s OK for Colorado WINS to acknowledge openly that it exists to play politics. What’s another word for “representation” before government? Oh, right, “lobbying.”

Invoking real tragedy as a cover for raw politicking stoops pretty low.

Kind of makes you want to support the good government initiatives Amendment 49 and Amendment 54, doesn’t it?

Anyway, I’ll stick with Dave Ohmart and Colorado Loses.

Colorado’s Amendment 54 proponents have taken their case to the airwaves for the first time [Video Updated]:

The case of state senator Abel Tapia receiving hundreds of thousands in no-bid government contracts over 10 years was first brought to light by the Denver Post back in April. But as the ad correctly points out, Amendment 54 would create an electronic database of no-bid government contracts searchable by Colorado citizens.

You can find the explanation for my endorsement of Amendment 54 and thumbnail explanations of all the measures on my guide to the 2008 Colorado ballot.

The official campaign against Colorado Amendment 49 - also known as Protect Colorado’s Culture of Corruption Future - has set a pattern of blatant deception.

But this week one group that has funded the anti-49 political campaign with teacher dues money found a way to step over the line a couple of ways at once, reports the Rocky Mountain News. First, by using official school district resources for electioneering purposes:

A teachers union improperly used the Jefferson County School District’s e-mail system to urge a “no” vote on three ballot measures, including one that would impact union dues.

The Jefferson County Education Association (JCEA) also stepped over the line by using false, ridiculous scare tactics in its anti-Amendment 49 message . The message from JCEA President Kerrie Dallman suggested that these initiatives would take away teachers’ pensions. But, of course, as my boss Jon Caldara correctly noted:

None of the amendments have anything to do with pensions.

If that doesn’t convince you, go ahead and look up 47, 49, and 54 in the official Colorado Blue Book.

Thankfully, there are teachers in Jeffco who are above being fooled by the deception. Like the whistleblower teacher who brought this misuse of school communication systems to my attention. And like another Jeffco teacher who appeared with me on Independent Thinking to explain why he believes Amendment 49 is a good idea.

It will be interesting to see whether the ethical reform of Amendment 49 can survive the heavily-funded onslaught of scare tactics - among schoolteachers and the general populace - and win out at the polls.

More links and information have been added to my guide to the 2008 Colorado ballot. If there are any initiatives or referenda on which you’re undecided, I invite you to please check it out.

The Rocky Mountain News today takes a closer look at Protect Colorado’s Future and its use of “real” people in advertisements to foist its deceptive messages on the public:

Firefighter Joel Heinemann says he would rather run into a burning building than face a movie camera.

Yet it’s his face Coloradans are seeing in television ads and home flyers urging a “no” vote on Amendments 47, 49 and 54.

Heinemann is a “messenger,” one of about a dozen firefighters, police officers, nurses and teachers who volunteered to enter the political limelight to speak against three ballot initiatives they believe are anti-union.

Of course, it’s also important to note that Joel Heinemann is president of the Littleton firefighters union, and that Denver Deputy Sheriff Jeff Shaw helps to negotiate the Fraternal Order of Police union contract. As the Rocky points out, Protect Colorado’s Future has used Shaw’s image to say these amendments “will stop law enforcement from lobbying for better body armor,” when the contract Shaw negotiated has nothing to say about body armor or safety issues.
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If you have yet to visit my page with information and recommendations on the long list of initiatives and referenda on Colorado’s 2008 ballot, now is the time to stop by. After all, thanks to the clever and capable stylings of Colorado cartoonist Ben Hummel, the page is now illustrated!

Much ado has been made out of the 11th-hour deal that pulled four labor union-sponsored initiatives from the Colorado ballot. As opined by the editors of the Rocky Mountain News:

On Thursday, labor peace was restored in Colorado. At least until the 2009 legislature convenes.

The announcement that two labor-backed groups would remove Amendments 53, 55, 56 and 57 from the November ballot - and in return business groups would fund a joint business-labor campaign to defeat Amendments 47, 49 and 54 - is a positive development. The state’s economic health was in the crosshairs of the labor measures, a couple of which probably had a good shot at passage.

There’s no doubt that the “economic health” and well-being of Colorado families and businesses is safer as a result of these four measures being off the ballot. Union leaders may have believed these measures would benefit their members and other workers. But they never believed that workers’ economic bottom line was more important than maintaining and increasing their own power.
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With four measures pulled off the ballot and a new guide to link to, I have updated my Colorado Ballot 2008 page this morning. Please be sure to check it out for the latest.