Colorado Workers Fighting Ballot Measures That Would Undermine Their Rights

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/9757

The top of the ballot isn’t the only important election to union members in some states. Jesse Russell reports:

In Colorado worker allies are fighting hard against a trio of amendments that opponents say would undermine the rights of workers to have an organized voice in the workplace. According to the Colorado AFL-CIO Amendments 47, 49, and 54 would “weaken” unions, “silence” voices, and “undermine” the ability to “negotiate fair wages and benefits.”

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper recently spoke out against the measures. He said they are bad for business in Colorado:

: If they pass they are going to damage Colorado in a million ways. They are going to damage our ability to attract businesses, they are going to damage businesses that are already here, workers are going to suffer, and I think ultimately our economies are going to suffer.

At a town meeting in Aurora, Colorado Bill Wolf said firefighters are concerned about how Amendments 49 and 54 will put limits on how some workers can advocate for issues important to them. Wolf told the story of how firefighters recently fought for a tank that provides for 15 minutes of extra oxygen.

: With the voice of many firefighters within a union they were able to get approval to get this oxygen tank approved for them to carry.

He said if the amendments pass that voice would be lost.

: Amendments 47, 49, and 54 will take that voice away. Those kinds of things will not be advocated for.