Posted on 04/10/2008 11:05:36 PM PDT by george76
The unions that pushed the hardest for Gov. Bill Ritter's executive order granting them a larger voice in state government could soon see a nearly four-fold increase in membership.
They are also circulating among prospective members a report that recommends increasing state worker wages and health care benefits to attract and retain a higher-quality workforce.
Opponents of the executive order say it's proof that Ritter has unnecessarily opened the door to future wage disputes and, ultimately, higher taxes.
The unions, which had fewer than 6,000 dues-paying state workers on their rolls before the Nov. 2 order, could soon exclusively represent the vast majority of the state's 32,000 qualifying workers.
The Colorado Association of Public Employees (a division of SEIU), the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the American Federation of Teachers formed a coalition called Colorado WINS four days after Ritter's order, and immediately launched a furious recruitment campaign.
Their work has paid off. As of Thursday, they had submitted to the state Department of Labor signed "cards of support" from at least 30 percent of workers in five of the state workforce's seven worker categories.
That means that, barring another union submitting an equal number of cards soon, Colorado WINS could schedule a membership election before the end of April that could bring more than 20,000 employees under its umbrella. And Colorado WINS is still collecting signatures in a bid to represent the remaining categories.
(Excerpt) Read more at rockymountainnews.com ...
Many Republican lawmakers say the governor should have vetted his “partnerships” model through the legislature, rather than through an executive order issued quietly on a Friday afternoon.
SIEU and AFSCME can only exist in Govt - which of course allows monopolistic, corrupt politic lobby groups to pose as defenders of the working man.
Unions should be dealt with in the old school Henry Ford style. Clubs and beat downs. Unions destroyed our industrial base and cost the taxpayers uncountable billions. As far as I’m concerned unions, particularly government unions should be dissolved and outlawed.
I really do hate unions. They reward those who are lazy.
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