The Colorado Index

Will Labor Strife Mar DNC?

Two weeks from today, Democratic nominee Barack Obama will speak to adoring throngs at Invesco Field, the culminating event of the Democratic National Convention.  However, organized labor may ruin Barack Obama's lovefest due to two potential labor strikes.

First, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association will begin a media blitz to explain why they do not want incentive pay.  This incentive pay would result in $3000 to $6000 pay raises and a $44,000 starting salary.

Denver's teachers union is taking to the airwaves and reserving time after school to talk to parents in an effort to explain its side of the negotiation squabble for a new contract.

The publicity effort will include radio advertisements and comes a week before mediation begins between the Denver Classroom Teachers Association and Denver Public Schools with a professional arbiter. (snip)

The union says that the current plan is fair to all teachers but that DPS's proposal would favor beginning teachers over veterans. (snip)

The union also asked teachers Wednesday to wear stickers and take 20 minutes before and after school to explain the union's side to parents.

At least the Denver Classroom Teachers Association does not plan another childish sickout as they did in May.  Still, the veteran teachers should be embarrassed.  The union claims of unfairness in the plan simply means that the union believes that veteran teachers cannot do their jobs and achieve the triggers for incentives.  While this will not escalate to a strike level until after the convention, it still may embarrass Barack Obama, as he has weakly endorsed incentive pay plans similar to the ProComp plan.

An even larger opportunity for embarrassment at the convention is the potential Qwest strike (Hat Tip: Greg Pollowitz at National Review's Media Blog) .  Qwest is providing communications services for the DNC and the RNC in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Members of the largest employee union at Qwest Communications International Inc., have voted to authorize a strike if talks fail to produce a new contract.

Communications Workers of America District 7 said 93 percent of voting members had authorized union leaders to call a strike if needed.

A contract covering about 20,000 union workers at Qwest expires at 12:01 a.m. Aug. 17, a little more than a week before the Democratic National Convention in Denver. The Republican National Convention begins Sept. 1 in St. Paul.

This potential strike would be interesting, especially if they plan to picket the Pepsi Center.  If Qwest workers do picket there, will they be forced into the freedom cage with the rest of the protesters?  Will any Democrats side with the union workers instead of going to their nightly pep rallies? 

Will these labor problems ruin the convention?  Probably not.  Most of the national media will ignore the protesters and only show the made for television convention speeches.  However, at minimum, these situations will only add more chaos to Denver during the Democratic National Convention.

by Civil Sense

Good News on Ethical Standards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 24, 2008

Contact:   Jon Caldara, 303-641-4255

"Ethical Standards" Question Approved for November Voters

Measure to Clean Up Colorado Government Clears Major Legal Hurdle,

Becoming Fourth Initiative to Appear on Statewide Ballot

DENVER—Secretary of State Mike Coffman today certified petition signatures for the "Ethical Standards" initiative, which proponents say will close an unethical government loophole.

On July 8, Independence Institute president Jon Caldara and state senator Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, submitted to the Secretary of State more than 120,000 collected voter signatures in support of the Ethical Standards initiative, now dubbed Amendment 49. The minimum valid number of signatures for certification is 76,047.

"Thousands of Coloradans are sending a strong message that they want their governments providing them with essential services, not collecting money for special interest groups," Caldara said.

Amendment 49 seeks to set a consistently simple and ethical standard: No state or local government agency can use payroll deductions to bundle and send money to groups that contribute to political candidates and lobby public officials. The conflict of interest goes deeper than just the act of deducting and bundling money.

"This is especially a problem when special interests fund candidates and lobby officials of the very same government that acts as their banker, accountant, and collection agent," said Caldara.

Under the proposal, government workers preserve all their rights of association and may transmit dues payments and other contributions through convenient private banking arrangements.

Ethical Standards Now is a registered issue committee with the State of Colorado.

Modern Day Union Thuggery

There is a modern type of union thuggery afoot, and Protect Colorado's Future is promoting it.

They don't much like the Right to Work initiative, so they are trying to do anything they can to stop it.  That includes promoting the creation of an employment situation in Colorado that is much like the situation in France.  In France, young people aren't hired because it is nearly impossible to fire them to meet the needs of the business.

Assume that their "just cause" initiative passes and you are looking for a job.  Would you be hired by an employer if that employer knew that he could never fire you if business turned down?  He would be better off not hiring anyone in Colorado and shipping the job to another state than run the risk that he must pay you even if he has no work for you.

As with many left wing causes, Protect Colorado's Future isn't above lying about what their initiative does:

The Colorado Just Cause initiative will help protect Colorado employees by having companies simply explain their reasons for firing employees.

The initiative does much more than "having companies simply explain their reasons for firing employees."  It lists acceptable reasons, and a business downturn isn't one of them.  If an employer discharges an employee because he has no work for him, the employee can get his job back with back pay and attorneys fees.  That thuggish provision has the potential to put every small business in Colorado out of business and will send bigger companies to other states. 

Their tactics against Right to Work include this jewel:

The unions have, as we reported earlier this week, a push poll operation going against these three amendments.  And they are complaining about a campaign of fraud and deception?

Are Unions Doing a Push Poll on Right to Work?

On Saturday afternoon, I spent about 15 minutes on the phone participating in what had the appearance of being a push poll against the three initiatives that I associate with some friends in Denver.

The pollster wanted to know who I would vote for in the Presidential and Senatorial race and if I considered myself a Republican.  Then he asked about the three initiatives and if I would vote for or against them.

He claimed that he would give both negative and positive information about them, but most of it was negative.  He attacked the Coors family as being anti-labor and Jake Jabs for something I had never heard about.

I got asked three times how I would vote on the three initiatives.  Each time I said I would vote for them I got more arguments against them.  I wish I had recorded the comments, but the clear message was that Unions are good and Big Business is bad.

If this is a push poll, it is an expensive push poll.

Right to Work

Once, I was a union man.  I laugh at the thought.

It was one of my first jobs.  I was a grocery clerk, more than forty years ago.  The butchers had unionized the place and everyone was required to be a union member, to pay dues.

Heck, the dues were all of five cents an hour, and because I belonged to the union, I made more than the minimum wage.  I made five cents an hour more than the minimum wage.  The labor union giveth and the labor union taketh away in equal measure.

Well, not quite.  For this five cents an hour that I really didn't get, I had to watch as the butchers used the power of my membership to increase their wages, but not mine.

When you hear the labor unions tell you that non members are getting the benefits of union shops and should pay agency fees, remember that they could have said the same thing about my situation.  I was getting an extra five cents an hour that I very likely wouldn't have gotten if the place hadn't been unionized.

Or was I?

Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce Hearts Unions

The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce board voted not to support Amendment 47, the right-to-work amendment. From the Post:

The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce is opposing the business-backed right-to-work ballot initiative, an unusual stance for a group representing the metro area's business community.

The chamber's board of directors voted Thursday to fight the union-restricting measure, saying that existing Colorado labor law provides balance for businesses and unions.

Chamber president Joe Blake acknowledged that a right-to-work law, which would prohibit workers from being forced to join a union and pay dues as a condition of employment, "makes sense in our world."

Why, then, did the Chamber vote to oppose the right-to-work initiative?

But the prospect of supporting Amendment 47 is outweighed by the danger of having voters approve several union-backed countermeasures, Blake said in a message to members.

"Support of 'right to work' is not worth the risk to the health of our economy, our business climate and the competitiveness of Colorado," Blake said. The board's vote does not mean the chamber will financially support "no" campaigns against right-to-work, said spokeswoman Kate Horle.

Kelley Harp, a spokesman for Amendment 47, blasted the chamber's position.

"It's unfortunate that the Denver chamber bought into the unions' threats and dissuasion campaigns and decided to put political expedience in front of principle," Harp said.

The union initiatives have not yet been approved for the ballot. However, the chamber seems to be running scared of them.

[ The chamber ] voted previously to oppose all union- backed initiatives, including proposals that would hold executives criminally liable for corporate wrongdoings and require businesses to give reasons for firing workers.

The labor proposals were spurred by the right-to-work measure, which has been certified for the November ballot. Union interests have until Aug. 4 to submit the required 76,000 signatures for each of their proposals.

While the union-backed initiatives will add costs and regulations to Denver businesses, fear of those initiatives is not necessarily the only reason to oppose the right-to-work measure.

Since the Democratic National Convention is coming in August, many union-friendly politicians will arrive in downtown Denver. The Denver Chamber wants to keep on the good side of union members so that when the Democrats come to Denver, they will be perceived as feel-good, union-friendly businesses. In the same vein, since our state government is run by labor-loving Democrats, the chamber wants to maintain a positive political relationship with those who pull the levers.

In any event, the right-to-work amendment is more important as this unionization movement expands. Every worker should have the right to not join a union or pay dues to it. The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce should be ashamed for not supporting this measure regardless of idle union threats. This vote gives the unions more perceived power, and will increase the likelihood of additional thuggish union tactics and threats to Denver businesses in the future.

by Civil Sense

Bill Ritter To Bankrupt Colorado With Union State Workers

Democrat Governor Bill Ritter’s plan to expand state government expenditures came to fruition yesterday.  From the Post:

At least 22,500 secretaries, prison guards and other state employees will soon fall under a union contract following a vote tallied Wednesday, though the majority of eligible workers didn't cast a ballot. 

The number represents about a third of state employees. They will join the 711 employees of the Colorado State Patrol who have already unionized.

ColoradoWINS, the coalition of three unions behind the election, continues to pursue another 11,000 state workers who are eligible to unionize under Gov. Bill Ritter's controversial executive order that allowed state employees to unionize and collectively bargain for wages and work conditions. 

The worst part of Bill Ritter’s unionization is that a majority of state employees did not cast a ballot, yet they still will be represented by the union!

About 6,900 state workers from a pool of 22,500 who were eligible participated in the election, which gave them a choice between Colorado WINS or no union representation. Of those, 5,481 supported the union. 

In other words, only 24 percent of workers voted for the union, and only 31 percent of workers voted at all. This begs the question whether or not those employees who did not vote knew their silence was tacit acceptance of the union.

But, do not worry, Bill Ritter’s union friends promise to be friendly: 

But Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer pointed out that state workers do not have the right to strike for higher wages and said there are legislative checks to keep salary and benefits balanced.

"This is a partnership. This is not old-school union strong-arm tactics that the Republicans would have us believe," he said.

This is a red herring. How can there be a “partnership” when unions enjoin the workers practice class warfare against their employers?

Asking a union not to strike is similar to asking a dog not to bark. When one of these unions decides to strike, who will take action against them? Ronald Reagan fired the illegally striking air traffic controllers in 1981. But, President Reagan was a strong chief executive. Bill Ritter has proven to be the opposite in his tenure as Governor. 

by Civil Sense

Monica Will Let You Opt Out

It is always good to know what government is doing. Here is an interesting email that fell into our hands.  It allows a state employee to opt out of receiving monthly solicitations by unions on government time via government email

Unless a public employee opts out of the once a month emails from each organization, we taxpayers are paying for the time that unions are taking to recruit him.  Apparently the new word for unions is "employee organizations."  Bill Ritter's government isn't even honest enough to use the word.

From: Cortez-Sangster, Monica
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2008 9:27 AM
To: DPA All Employees
Subject: Employee Organizations' Email Lists & Partnership Agreement FAQs

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

In recent months you may have received emails inviting you to attend employee organization meetings.  Pursuant to DPA's Employee Organization Access protocol these organizations are allowed to send one email per month to you work email address.   You have the choice to opt out of receiving future emails from the sender organization at any time and the employee organization must promptly respect those requests.  If you would like to opt out, please respond to this email by clicking the "yes" button at the top left hand corner of this email.  If you do not opt out, your work email will be provided to the employee organizations for future communications.  You may always opt out of receiving emails from these organizations at a later time.

In addition, any complaints or suggestions regarding implementation of this access protocol can be submitted in writing to me via email or letter. The Department will promptly investigate all complaints and take appropriate action. 

The DPA Employee Organization Access Policy can be viewed in its entirety on MyDPA at the following address:

http://mydpa.state.co.us/hr/policy/dpaemployeeorganizationaccessfinal120507.pdf

A Frequently Asked Questions document regarding Executive Order D 028 07 Authorizing Partnership Agreements with State Employees have been posted at: http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/  under Hot Topics on the right hand side of the page.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Monica Cortez-Sangster, MPA

Director of Human Resources, Department of Personnel & Administration

While Visiting Colorado, Barack Obama Provides His Two Cents on the DCTA Childishness

Meanwhile, Democrat Presidential Candidate Barack Obama visited Thornton yesterday. A Rocky Mountain News story details his brief statement on the impasse between the Denver Public Schools and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association.

Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama briefly touched on the contentious Denver Public Schools teacher negotiations Wednesday during his appearance in Thornton.

The reference came midway through his speech at the Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts, when Obama said: "I realize that the teachers in Denver are in the middle of tough negotiations right now, but what they've already proven is that it's possible to find new ways to increase teacher pay that are developed with teachers, not imposed on them."

Barack Obama, not being from Colorado, likely does not understand the present situation with the Denver Classroom Teachers Association and the ProComp program. Perhaps he reflexively sides with unions in salary negotiations, as unions are significant financiers of the Democratic Party. At any rate, his statement is misleading, at best.

The ProComp website provides further details on the program:

ProComp is a nine year bargained agreement between the Denver Classroom Teachers Association and Denver Public Schools that is designed to link teacher compensation more directly with the mission and goals of DPS and DCTA.

The system accomplishes the following goals:

* Rewards and recognizes teachers for meeting and exceeding expectations

* Links compensation more closely with instructional outcomes for students

* Enables the district to attract and retain the most qualified and effective teachers by offering uncapped annual earnings in a fair system (snip)

The ProComp Agreement was approved by the Denver Board of Education Feb. 19, 2004, by DCTA members March 19 and by the Denver voters on November 1, 2005. That mill levy election raised $25 million annually to help finance the system.

This agreement was not imposed upon union schoolteachers; votes of the union, the Board of Education, and Denver residents provided for this program.

Individual accountability and local school-level autonomy seem to provide the best education to students based upon student performance. Unions, being collectivist in nature, are against incentivized pay. Unions look for equality of pay outcome, not equality of opportunity.

It is likely that the union leadership will continue to fight against incentivized pay. By doing so, the union will only lose power and continue to lose support from the dominant mass media. Unfortunately, in the meantime, the customers (students) of the Denver Public Schools will lose the most.

by Civil Sense

Denver Post Scolds Denver Public School Teachers

When a union loses support of the Denver Post, it needs to take a hard look at its negotiating position. Today’s lead editorial about the battle between the Denver Classroom Teachers Association and the Denver Public Schools is quite hard-hitting:

After five months of talks, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association and the [ Denver Public School ] system have yet again reached a contract negotiations impasse, particularly over distribution of ProComp money. (ProComp, approved in 2005, is a type of merit-pay system that links teacher compensation to the school district's goals through incentives and wage increases.)

The district has proposed the largest compensation increase in the history of Colorado public education.

The response? Some teachers failed to show for work Tuesday. 

The average teacher would get an 18 percent increase in base pay and incentives under the DPS proposal. Eighteen percent. Nearly every teacher would get at least a 5.2 percent increase. All would get a cost of living increase.

How can you complain about that — much less walk out on your students?

Those are significant increases, especially in tough economic times, and the teachers union will be hard-pressed to justify turning its nose up at the offer.

The emphasis on the eighteen percent pay raise is contained in the original article. Kudos to the Post for taking a hard position against its erstwhile union allies.

Without media support, it will be interesting to see how long the Denver Classroom Teachers Association will continue its childish crusade for union power against the interests of the majority of the teachers it claims to represent.

by Civil Sense