Update: It's also worth noting that EFCA supporters have engaged in a full-fledged campaign of deception. Someone should ask Senator Michael Bennet if he's buying it. We know the so-called Employee Free Choice Act (aka card-check): Deprives workers of a secret ballot in workplace elections, exposing them to intimidation Imposes costly government bureaucratic intervention in private workplace negotiations Threatens to cost our fragile national economy and hard-working Americans of many thousands of jobs Now, thanks to a new report released by the Workforce Fairness Institute, we see more clearly and concretely the real beneficiaries of this three-headed monster legislation: … [Read more...]
Bad Legislation Parade’s SB 180 Would Harm Taxpayers, Employee Rights
Today brings a chance to review another member of the bad legislation parade down at the Colorado State Capitol. Senate Bill 180 (PDF) would override the local will of voters and impose collective bargaining on all local police and fire departments. After making it through the Democrat-controlled State, Military, and Veteran Affairs Committee, the bill is on the slate to be heard by the full senate any day now. From the Denver Daily News:Concerns are being raised that collective bargaining leads to overtaxing government budgets through increased payroll costs, which ends up hitting taxpayers hard. The last time the issue raised so many conservative eyebrows was in 2007 when Gov. Bill Ritter issued an executive order authorizing state … [Read more...]
Well-Heeled Union Lobbyists Flout Law to Oppose Ethical Standards
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 … [Read more...]
Teachers Union Spreads Fear and Disinformation about Amendment 47
Michael at Best Destiny, a Jefferson County teacher by day, writes:Yesterday, the union representative at one of my schools came back from a district-wide meeting in breathless distress over this year's ballot. She said that, based on what was told to her in her meeting, there was the potential that the passage of Amendment 47 could mean the "end of teacher representation, and the school district would no longer have to follow any rules about how they ordered you to spend your time." She even went so far as to say that the passage of 47 would be more devastating for schools than the failure of either the Mill Levy increase or of the Bond election. Another anecdote that shows the teachers union - in this case, the Jefferson County … [Read more...]
Peter Blake Chronicles Amendment 49 for the Rocky Mountain News
Peter Blake yesterday wrote a great Rocky Mountain News column about one of the major initiatives on Colorado's statewide November ballot - Amendment 49:As [Jon] Caldara, head of the Independence Institute, likes to put it, government would no longer be able to act as "the bagman for political special interests."... No doubt passage of No. 49 would make it more difficult for unions to collect dues. But Caldara said that in the age of automatic bank transfers, union members can easily arrange to have dues deducted if they want. "Taxpayers don't have to be on the hook for doing the accounting, the bookkeeping and collection work for special interests and their lobbyists." Caldara maintains it's a conflict of interest for, say, school … [Read more...]
Colorado Education Association Reports Zero Dollars Spent on Politics?
The Colorado Supreme Court may have given the Colorado Education Association (CEA) a pass from the state's electioneering laws, but the Landmark Legal Foundation has taken the same evidence to file a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service that the union violated its tax-exempt status. In other words, CEA spent members' general dues money on union employees to coordinate political campaigns but reported zero dollars spent on politics to the IRS. Listen to Landmark's Pete Hutchison tell the story on this newly-released iVoices podcast. … [Read more...]
Gazette: Colorado Teachers Need to Know Their Choices
In order for me to live up to my "anti-public education" billing from the teachers union, I wanted to bring your attention to a stunningly clear and beautiful editorial today from the Colorado Springs Gazette. Key excerpts follow:Throughout the country, most teachers belong to a chapter of the National Education Association. The Colorado branch is known as the Colorado Education Association, which is broken down by local chapters. Dues exceed $600 a year, which can be tough for teachers supporting families on wages that average $40-some thousand a year. In some school districts, such as D-11 in Colorado Springs, the union assumes membership and takes dues from a teacher’s wages unless the educator jumps through hoops to opt out during … [Read more...]