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 … [Read more...]
Attorney’s Vulgar Racist Slur a Stain on Big Labor Opponents of Right-to-Work
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 … [Read more...]
Another Reason for Right-to-Work… from a Union Leader’s Own Words
Denver Post business writer Al Lewis made an interesting revelation yesterday (H/T Labor Pains blog):What's so great about being in the union? Half of Colorado's United Food and Commercial Workers would stop paying union dues if they could, according to the group's local president. In a May 1 letter to members, Ernest Duran warns that the right-to-work initiative headed for Colorado's November ballot would decimate his ranks of dues-paying members. "If this amendment passes, we will enter all future negotiations divided," Duran wrote. "In my opinion, we will enter with less than 50 percent of the workers as union members." Do you wonder now why union leaders are so frightened of Amendment 47, the statewide ballot initiative that … [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...]