The Denver Post has put up my exclusive commentary on Gov. Bill Ritter's November executive order, which may soon end up unionizing two-thirds of state government. Here's a taste:Thanks to Gov. Bill Ritter's gold-plated invitation, union leaders are on the verge of taking a major role in state government. Taxpayers and dissenting workers should pay attention. Under the terms of Ritter's November 2 executive order, 30 percent of the affected workers in an occupational group have to express formal interest in a union "partnership" election. The Colorado WINS union coalition that formed four days after the order has collected enough signatures to hold five separate elections that could make it the "exclusive representative" of more than … [Read more...]
Search Results for: Bill Ritter executive order
Promote Worker Freedom for Colorado: Yes on Amendment 47
The Denver Post reports that the petition to bring Right-to-Work to Colorado has been certified for the November 2008 ballot. I laid out my case for supporting this idea a couple weeks ago. The specter of Right-to-Work was raised after a heated fight over House Bill 1072 early in 2007 - Gov. Bill Ritter shrewdly vetoed the Big Labor-sponsored legislation in hopes of restoring peace and order. But even last June, labor groups were working behind the scenes to forestall a possible Right-to-Work initiative. Two months later supporters introduced the initiative, leading us to today's certification - following the collection of well more than the required 67,000 signatures. But Right-to-Work (now known as Amendment 47) might not have … [Read more...]
Pueblo Chieftain: “We agree” with Clean Government Payroll Initiative
A ballot initiative proposed for the November 2008 Colorado ballot (and supported by the Independence Institute, where I work) has earned its third major newspaper endorsement, still more than six months out from the election. From the Pueblo Chieftain today:THE INDEPENDENCE Institute, a Golden-based think tank, is circulating petitions for a ballot initiative that would stop governmental agencies from collecting union dues from their employees. In 2001, then-Gov. Bill Owens signed an executive order that stopped the payroll deduction for unionized state employees. Soon after Bill Ritter’s election, the new governor issued a new executive order to resume the automatic deductions. Jon Caldera, president of Independence, says the … [Read more...]
On the Air This Morning
I am scheduled to be a guest on the Amy Oliver Show on Northern Colorado's AM 1310 KFKA this morning at 10:00 AM (Mountain Daylight Time). I will be talking about my new report on Gov. Bill Ritter's union "employee partnerships," including a breakdown of the weak arguments used to defend Ritter's executive order and potential harms that it creates. For those who don't have time to look at the full-blown report, I also have created a two-page overview. You can listen live online here. … [Read more...]
Revising and Extending My Remarks on State Government Unionization
Today, two Colorado newspapers ran stories about growing unionization in state government. I was quoted in both articles, as the issue is one I've researched and have an Independence Institute publication being formatted for official release on Monday. There's only so much space in a news article. But that's what makes a blog a wonderful venue for revising and extending my remarks, as a way to press the debate forward. First, Chris Barge in the Rocky Mountain News introduces the issue:The unions that pushed the hardest for Gov. Bill Ritter's executive order granting them a larger voice in state government could soon see a nearly fourfold increase in membership.... The unions, which had fewer than 6,000 dues-paying state workers on … [Read more...]
Big Labor Unleashes More Big Guns to Aim at Right-to-Work Initiative
The Denver Post reports today that Big Labor has escalated its political battle with the business community by introducing new proposals for Colorado's fall ballot:The five ballot initiatives filed by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 7 include measures that would: • Deny tax breaks and incentives to companies that relocate jobs outside Colorado. • Require businesses to pay more in property taxes. • Allow injured workers to sue employers outside the workers' compensation system. Along with ballot proposals backed by other unions, Monday's filings further set the stage for a fiery showdown between business and labor in November. Big Labor has pulled out the big guns to try to shoot down one … [Read more...]
Iowa, Like Colorado, Bending to Government Employee Union Pressure
The pressure to expand the power of government employee union officials at the expense of taxpayers is not isolated to Colorado. The Des Moines Register reports:Ignoring pleas from the governor and a slew of local elected officials to give Iowans time to weigh in, Democrats in the Iowa Senate today approved a labor-backed bill that would give unions more power at the negotiating table. House File 2645 would give public employees the same power as managers to open up contract talks to almost any workplace subject. The Senate approved the bill on a 27-23 vote. Six days passed between when this proposal was offered and the bill’s passage by both chambers. It marks the first substantial change since the collective bargaining law was … [Read more...]
Dems Push Forward “Wet Noodle” Anti-Strike Legislation
A bill that would ban strikes for Colorado state workers passed a Senate committee yesterday, reports the Denver Post - all unleashed by the stroke of Gov. Bill Ritter's pen. Today's article omits the significant detail, so it's incumbent upon this blogger to remind you that the Democrat proposal is weak and ineffectual. Colorado Senate News features the best commentary on the bill:"Obviously, this bill wouldn't have been introduced at all if Republicans hadn't urged the governor to do the right thing and assure taxpayers their vital public services wouldn't be jeopardized by the threat of a strike," the GOP's Sen. Bill Cadman, of Colorado Springs, said after the committee vote. "Unfortunately, what we got from the governor and his … [Read more...]
Radio Show Review
Thanks for those who tuned in to News Talk 1310 KFKA this morning to hear my inaugural guest host appearance on the Amy Oliver Show. For those who want more information on the guests and some of the topics discussed: Alan Gottlieb of the Public Education and Business Coalition edits the HeadFirst Colorado blog, which covers a range of education reform issues. Today we talked about the latest on the Bruce Randolph autonomy proposal, including union officials' latest delaying tactic, which Alan also posted on today. There's also a great story from yesterday on the topic at Face the State. I posted on the news of the rapidly growing estimates of revenue from the Governor's property tax hike at the Colorado Taxpayers blog. Other stories … [Read more...]
More Unions Jockeying to Get a Piece of State Employee Action
From this week's edition of the always insightful & entertaining Education Intelligence Agency Communique:2) Colorado Public Employees Union Hooks Up with CWA. Organized labor in Colorado is about to become very volatile. The dust has yet to settle from Gov. Bill Ritter's executive order establishing "partnerships" between state agencies and labor unions, which is clearly the prelude to public sector collective bargaining. The plans of Colorado WINS, a coalition of SEIU, AFSCME and AFT, are in evidence in the new organization's founding documents, first released exclusively by EIA on November 19. But Colorado WINS will have some competition. The formerly AFT-affiliated Colorado Federation of Public Employees has dissolved and … [Read more...]
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