A Pox on Both Your Houses

Update: The unions have withdrawn 53, 55, 56, & 57. A big thank you to them. And please remember to vote against 47, 49, & 54.

What's the state of worker-management relations here in Colorado? I'd say not bad. There will always be some tension between unions and management, it's the nature of their relationship. But here in Colorado it has been about as smooth and efficient as possible for quite some time.

A lot of this is due to the Colorado Labor Peace Act of 1943. For the last 65 years both sides have worked within the framework of that act. And it has worked because it does provide a relatively level playing field.

So what happened? Why is this suddenly a battle of Mutual Assured Destruction via competing initiatives? Was there some major problem that suddenly cropped up? Some labor/management argument that could not be resolved?

Nope.

Some members of the Coors family decided that they wanted to break the peace and declared war on the unions. And so they funded Amendments 47 & 49. The unions struck back with Amendments 53, 55, 56, & 57. (In the unions defense, they have offered to withdraw their amendments if Coors will withdraw theirs.)

So what do these initiatives do? Well 47 & 49 will essentially eliminate unions in Colorado. While 55 & 56 will essentially eliminate entire sectors of the business community (such as high-tech).

While some of the initiatives are anti-union, and some are anti-business, they are all anti-worker. If these pass, any of them, the vast majority of people in Colorado will be worse off. Lower pay, fewer jobs, that only benefits a few business tycoons (which coincidentally, is what the Coors family is).

If any of these pass, even the less awful 53 or 57, then the Peace Act is over. We will have a major battle between labor and management. And once again, the worker loses.

Vote No on 47, 49, 53, 55, 56, & 57

Don't let the Coors family destroy what has been an effective system that has worked very well for this state for 65 years. This state belongs to all of us, not just to them.

The Stupidity of the Coors/Independence Institute initiatives

from the Denver Post:

There is still time for both the unions and business groups to call off this brutal exercise in "mutually assured destruction."

If business and labor will put their money and energy into working together for the good of all Colorado, they can help build the transportation network and education system upon which our future prosperity depends.

The fact is that in this bizarre replay of an Old West gunfight, the anti-union groups are essentially firing blanks. Sure, right-to-work laws exist in 22 states, but Colorado's existing Labor Peace Act already makes it all but impossible to compel workers to join unions or pay agency fees against their will.

But there is nothing symbolic about the union counter-strikes to Amendment 47 — a four-way assault on the Colorado economy that would be especially devastating on small business, the most important source of new jobs.

How Brain Dead are some in the Business Community?

Keep in mind, the "business community" is a very large group with just about as many opinions as there are people owning & running businesses. And the vast majority of these business are run by thoughtful intelligent people who see that these 7 initiatives are a big mistake - all 7 of them.

With that said, every group has some people who are totally focused on their own self-interest and others who don't see all the ramifications of actions they propose. Hey, we're all human and therefore imperfect.

CACI

First let's look at the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry with this statement about the 4 union backed measure:

"the political balance in the state is in danger of being tipped in favor of unions, which will be detrimental to the state's economic future."

So CACI is against all 7 initiatives right? Well actually, no. They support the 3 anti-union ones. So they're fine with sticking it to the unions, but how dare the unions fight back. It's narrow-minded idiocies like this that has led to this mess. CACI gets the wanker of the week award for being indignant that the unions are responding in kind to their actions.

The Colorado Economic Leadership Coalition

And finally, let's give a shout-out to CELC which has come out strongly against all 7 initiatives. They do see how these initiatives are bad for all of us, for companies, for unions, and for workers. Kudos to them.