For what it's worth, if you want a glimpse of the public mindset concerning 16 major institutions in American society, you should check out the new Gallup survey (H/T Mike Antonucci). The following are some salient observations on how favorably Americans view the 16 major institutions: … [Read more...]
Colorado’s Falling Worker Freedom Grade Highlights Bill Ritter Legacy
Americans for Tax Reform is out with its annual Index of Worker Freedom this week. The idea is to look on a state-by-state basis to determine the extent of employee individual rights and freedoms in workplaces based on the laws and policies of their respective states. ATR looks at whether a state has Right-to-Work laws, paycheck protection, what the share of public and private sector union membership is, etc. In December 2007, when the Index was first released, Colorado received an A-minus (MP3). This year? … [Read more...]
Michael Bennet-Backed Obama Official, Former SEIU Lawyer to Rule in Client’s Defense Against Aggrieved Nurse
From National Review Online today:Carole Jean Badertscher was a California nurse who just wanted to go to work and take care of her patients — but the SEIU was determined not to let that happen. The union’s contract with Badertscher’s employer, the Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, had expired, and the union had called a strike in response. Badertscher and other nurses, unwilling to abandon their patients for the sake of a stronger SEIU hand in contract negotiations, resigned from the union and went to work. In turn, she was threatened by the union bosses, who promised to have her prosecuted under California’s antique professional-strikebreaker statute, which was long ago pre-empted by federal law. Badertscher and other nurses were … [Read more...]
Video: Michael Bennet’s Infamous Card Check Indecision Lingers On…
My good friend Amanda from Liberty on the Rocks is at it again, this time asking our appointed U.S. Senator Michael Bennet where he stands on the union card check issue: Michael Bennet has been stuck in indecision on the union card check issue almost since the day he was appointed to office a year and a half ago. Maybe the junior senator figured he doesn't have to answer the question because he cast a backdoor vote for card check via the Craig Becker nomination back in February -- but still losing some Big Labor backing to his primary rival Andrew Romanoff. At least by that time next year we have good reason to hope Bennet won't have to worry any more about constituents pestering him for his opinion on such issues. Leaving behind … [Read more...]
Tougher GOP Senate Endorsement: CEA or Andrew Romanoff’s Mom?
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the Colorado Education Association (CEA) -- the state's largest teachers union -- is not exactly likely to endorse a Republican candidate in a statewide election. Last week the union sent out an email to its members that began:About 20 Association members, representing 40,000 fellow members, recently interviewed candidates for Colorado's U.S. Senate seat. These members decided that CEA should wait until the August 10 Primary Election to recommend a U.S. Senate candidate to our members. The process these members used was to invite all the declared candidates in both major political parties to complete written questionnaires about public education issues and appear for personal interviews. … [Read more...]
Kudos to Denver Post for Calling Out Udall, Bennet on Big Labor Sop
The Denver Post editorial board is on track today with a piece calling on Colorado's sell-out U.S. Senators to come out and oppose a terrible piece of special interest payback legislation known as the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act:Insiders say Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, who is championing the measure, has as many as 62 votes. That tally includes Udall and Bennet. … [Read more...]
State Employee Suffers Under Union Executive Order: Where’s Hick?
Coming off this weekend's big Republican State Assembly, we have heard both leading Republican candidates for governor -- Dan Maes and Scott McInnis -- declare the repeal of Bill Ritter's union executive order. I think we all get the point of how the policy is a raw deal for Colorado taxpayers. But what about state employees themselves? Enter Dave Ohmart, with his latest report:In a recent incident in Pueblo, Colorado WINS prevented Sgt. Jeff Hotchkiss, of the Department of Corrections, from participating in a vote that would have affected his work schedule. A few union members, very few, voted to make the correction officers’ work schedule 12 hours per day. The sergeant, and pretty much all other officers, were not allowed to … [Read more...]
Democrats’ HB 1181 Union Buy-Off: Pushing the State Capitol Panic Button
Update, 5/8: Colorado LOSES has a great idea about what to do with HB 1181. If Republicans can't kill it, the least they should do is offer an amendment to ensure transparency of state employee union finances. In the waning days of the legislative session, is anyone up to the challenge? (H/T Complete Colorado) The Denver Post's Tim Hoover reports today:Days before the legislature adjourns, some Democrats are pushing a proposal that would guarantee unions could still collect dues from state employees — even if the next governor is not union-friendly. The effort comes in the form of an amendment to House Bill 1181, a mostly technical bill dealing with policies of the Department of Personnel and Administration. The bill's sponsor, Sen. … [Read more...]
Don’t Be Surprised by Michael Bennet’s Decision to Petition onto Ballot
Our incumbent U.S. Senator Michael Bennet stunned some in the political world with the announcement that he would seek to petition onto the ballot in addition to go through the Democratic Party's assembly process. Fellow RMAer Don Johnson hypothesizes about Bennet's strategery, based on the luxury of his heavily-bankrolled campaign. But should we be surprised at such an extra-cautious strategy from the junior Senator who last year boldly blurted that he would vote for heavily unpopular Obama Care even if it cost him his appointed job? No, not really. Michael Bennet after all is an elected official known for more than a year of legendary indecision on the union card-check bill (unless you count his vote for the Craig Becker NLRB … [Read more...]
Does CEA Care More About School Funding or Political Allies?
This article was originally posted at Ed News Colorado. Sure, the Colorado Education Association loves to increase funding for K-12 schools and retain member jobs. But sometimes, its pleas for school funding simply don't add up. Yesterday's CEA blog entry "Amazon: play fair, support school funding" is just such an example:In other words, Amazon firing its affiliates does nothing to impact the fact that Amazon.com is still required to collect sales tax or, at a minimum alert their customers to this requirement under state law. The giant retailer is using its political weight to protest losing its tax-free status and having to compete on par with other Colorado retailers. Why should you care? Because sales tax revenues fund public … [Read more...]
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