FORT COLLINS, Colo.—Two unions want a special election to give Fort Collins police and other city employees more bargaining power.
The Northern Colorado Fraternal Order of Police and the Communications Workers of America plan to start a petition drive this month or next for a special election to be held in the spring.
The police group wants to ask voters to amend the city charter to allow the officers’ union to settle pay and benefit disputes with the city by binding arbitration.
Voters approved a measure in 2004 giving police the right to unionize but the measure did not include binding arbitration. Last fall, voters turned down binding arbitration for police by a 2-to-1 ratio.
The Communications Workers of America wants to ask voters to amend the charter to allow other city workers to unionize and to give them binding arbitration rights as well.
“The employees feel they have no voice,” CWA organizer Rosemary Sheridan said. “They used to think the city was the best job in the state. Now everything’s been eroding: pay, benefits.”
The city has frozen some employees’ pay and laid others off in recent years as it struggled to balance its budget. Workers’ share of health insurance premiums has also risen.
Scott Goff, president of the Fort Collins Fraternal Order of Police unit, said officers are better off with collective bargaining, and other city workers have noticed.
“The people that are working around us are saying, ‘Hey, that doesn’t look half bad,'” Goff said.
City Manager Darin Atteberry said binding arbitration would not be the best thing for the city or its employees.
“I think the significant part is the relationship part. Is it a collaborative or adversarial working relationship?” he said.
The CWA’s Sheridan estimated the groups would need 8,500 valid signatures to force the special election.
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Information from: Fort Collins Coloradoan,
