The Democrats at the State Capitol are trying to pull one over on Colorado voters in an attempt to give cover to Gov. Bill Ritter's executive order that provides for the unionization of state employees. Startled by the Attorney General's revelation that his order could not prevent strikes, Ritter quickly and publicly agreed to support the concept of a no-strike law in the state legislature brought forward by Republicans. Well, today we receive word of a bait-and-switch. After killing a bill sponsored by Rep. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs, that would provide real enforceable penalties that deter public employee strikes, the Democrats went ahead and gave mere lip service to public order and accountability:[The House Business and Labor … [Read more...]
Search Results for: Bill Ritter executive order
Why did Ritter Leave Worker Protections out of His Order?
The Denver Business Journal interviewed one of the two national labor experts who spoke at an event this morning sponsored by the Colorado chapter of the Federalist Society. From the article headlined "Labor experts make case against Ritter's union order":The governor and Democrats in the House and Senate argue the order is non-binding and won't have a direct bearing on budgets or businesses. Many in the business community also say they're hard pressed to see how the order effects them. But Stan Greer, senior programming director for the National Institute of Labor Relations, based in Springfield, Va., made the case that Ritter's executive order isn't in the state's best economic interests -- particularly if state workers are forced to … [Read more...]
“So What” Report Confirms Ritter’s Solution in Search of Problem
Doing its duty in support of the Left-liberal Colorado coalition, the Bell Policy Center released a report today that expends a lot of megabytes (and ink?) to say almost nothing relevant. The Rocky Mountain News first picked up on the story:Labor-management partnerships such as the one Gov. Bill Ritter ordered for state government are positive on balance, according to a report by the Bell Policy Center — a group that consulted with Ritter's staff as he launched his partnership plan. However, such agreements mostly have been used to turn around adversarial labor-management relations in already unionized workplaces with collective bargaining, the report points out. [emphasis added]The report presents zero evidence of so-called … [Read more...]
Ouch! More Pain in Ritter’s Behind-the-Scenes Union Revelations
The Rocky Mountain News today published an article which may qualify as one of the richest, most revealing local political stories of the year. It begins: On the day he issued his executive order making unions a bigger player in state government, Gov. Bill Ritter and union representatives assured Coloradans they weren't going to rock the boat. But behind the scenes, the waters were anything but calm, e-mails and other documents provided by Ritter's office in response to a Rocky Mountain News open records request show. Ritter's senior staff scrambled in the hours leading up to his announcement to deal with what they accurately predicted would be "a good deal of backlash." And a group representing seven Colorado unions rushed … [Read more...]
Chieftain: Ritter’s Order Unnecessary, Counterproductive, and Harmful
The Pueblo Chieftain joins other Colorado newspaper editorial voices in rejecting the arguments made for Gov. Ritter's executive order unionizing state employees:While he hopes his partnership arrangements will lead to new efficiencies, just the opposite could result. Unions are notorious for demanding - and receiving - work rules that often run counter to efficient operations. In addition to high medical insurance costs, old-line industries such as steel and autos had work rules that made them less competitive than those plants which operate without unions. The governor maintains that the restrictions on the state budget ensconced in TABOR would limit the amount the state could meet in future union pay demands. But there’s always the … [Read more...]
Gazette: Ritter Throws Tasty Raw “Sirloin Steak” to Labor Leaders
The Colorado Springs Gazette's editors decry Gov. "Back Room" Bill "Bag Man" Ritter for his executive order unionizing state employees: For the second time in less than a year, Gov. Bill Ritter has gotten into political trouble by throwing a bone to his labor union friends. In this case, however, he didn’t just throw them a bone, but a sirloin steak, by granting state employees de facto collective bargaining powers in an executive order issued late in the afternoon of Nov. 2. Contributing to the backlash this time around is the secretive, unilateral way the political payoff was orchestrated, and the slick, Clintonesque way the governor has tried to spin the issue by playing semantics. Ouch - it's worth reading the whole thing. … [Read more...]
CDOT “Partnership” Success Begs Questions about Ritter Order
The Pueblo Chieftain's Charles Ashby reports (H/T Mike Saccone) that Gov. Bill Ritter and the Democrats are trotting out a Republican state department chief as safe cover for his executive order: A Republican Cabinet member in Gov. Bill Ritter's administration already has found the governor's plan to "partner" with state workers beneficial to running his de- partment. But Russell George, executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation, would have done that anyway, the former GOP House speaker said. "It's very much in my nature to want to know the people I work with," said George, who previously was head of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources under former Gov. Bill Owens. "So, as I got here, I would have … [Read more...]
Debunking One Lefty Lie about Ritter’s Executive Order
Rather than take on all the lies and distortions in the debate over Gov. Bill Ritter's unionization executive order en masse, it makes more sense to deal with them one at a time. For starters, in two previous posts (here and here), I highlighted the internal contradictions and patent inaccuracies in the Left's attempt to deny that the order constitutes "collective bargaining." Lefty political hit man David Sirota, who recently appeared on a TV show hosted by my boss Jon Caldara at the Independence Institute, told this to his "progressive" buddies at the national Left-wing echo chamber known as Huffington Post: The most absurd attack on Ritter is the one that claims he acted in secret - even though, of course, he campaigned on a pledge … [Read more...]
Ritter’s Executive Order: Is it Collective Bargaining or Not?
It's been kind of funny to watch the Democratic Party coalition in Colorado dance around the term "collective bargaining" since last Friday afternoon's executive order from Gov. Bill Ritter. Here is a sample: Denver Post (11/4/07): "Mitch Ackerman, president of Service Employees International Union Local 105, called the partnership with Kaiser a '21st century model of collective bargaining,' a departure from the traditionally adversarial relationship between managers and workers." Colorado Federation of Public Employees Press Release (11/6/07): "Union Leader Says Partnership is Not Collective Bargaining" Bill Ritter, Rocky Mountain News Speakout (11/6/07): "Twenty-nine states provide collective-bargaining rights to their employees. … [Read more...]
Post and Bill Ritter: A Classic Case of Endorsement Remorse?
You've read about the editors of the Denver Post assailing Gov. Ritter for his cowardly, pro-union executive order? Talk about eating your words: His successor must have a clear vision for Colorado, advancing the state's economy while protecting its natural resources. He must have the will to seek bipartisan solutions with a divided legislature and a restless business community. He needs firm resolve that won't wilt under political pressures. He must see government as a force to advance the health and education of Coloradans. And, in this perilous time, to safeguard our borders from enemies, drug runners and the risks of natural disaster. He must be ready to crack down on illegal immigration while laying out a welcome mat for … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- …
- 7
- Next Page »