Colorado Vote Unionizes State Labor
Vote Unionizes State Labor
Thursday 12 June 2008
by: Jessica Fender, The Denver Post
State workers are eligible to unionize under Governor Bill Ritter’s controversial executive order that allows state employees to unionize and collectively bargain for wages and work conditions.
Contract will cover a third of state employees
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 results of the mail balloting, to be announced today, left Republican critics howling since labor groups are traditionally Democratic campaign contributors. But union organizers toasted the results, which they said will show that between 64 percent and 85 percent of those who voted among different groups of state workers supported union representation.
“It’s fabulous,” said Karen Esau, an administrative assistant at the University of Colorado’s medical campus and union activist who was en route to a party hosted by ColoradoWINS. “People are not happy with not having a voice in how our health care is chosen, how we’re trained, how we’re advanced.”
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.
The results were based only on the number of votes cast, but even those who did not vote will now be represented by the union - regardless of whether they pay the voluntary union dues.
Republicans have criticized Ritter, saying he allowed unions to represent state workers to fatten the ranks and bank accounts of the unions who almost exclusively support Democrats.
And even if only the workers who already supported the union become dues-paying members, it will nearly double the rolls of the groups that make up ColoradoWINS.
Republicans also raised concerns that collective bargaining will make it harder to balance the state’s budget.
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.
Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the American Federation of Teachers joined forces to lobby state workers a few weeks after Ritter issued the November executive order.
While Ritter counted labor among his top campaign contributors in 2006, Dreyer said the governor makes independent decisions and has vetoed a number of union proposals.
But alleged payback isn’t the only gripe the GOP has. Sen. Shawn Mitchell, a Broomfield Republican, foresees dire consequences as the state faces tight fiscal times, he said.
“One of the state’s biggest expenses is employee payroll,” Mitchell said. “From now on, the delicate process of analyzing, setting and appropriating fair salaries and job conditions will be affected by organized labor at the table.”
Wednesday’s election will affect five categories of state workers. Two other categories have not yet decided whether to hold a union election.
Esau said that ColoradoWINS will wait for those additional 11,000 workers to vote before she and her colleagues set their agenda.
June 16th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Unions are finally growing again in America. They brought us the American Middle Class. Maybe, they can save it!