DENVER—State employees would be barred from striking under a bill given initial backing by the Senate on Tuesday.
The Democratic measure (House Bill 1189) was introduced in response to the controversy over an executive order issued by Gov. Bill Ritter last year. It authorized “partnership agreements” that allow state workers to meet with managers to discuss concerns but bars them from striking.
However, Republican Attorney General John Suthers said workers still had a legal right to strike despite the prohibition in the executive order. Republican lawmakers pressed for changing the law to make sure that they weren’t allowed to strike.
Under current law, workers in disputes being mediated by the state labor department or in industries affecting the public interest can be barred from striking. If they incite a strike anyway, they can be fined $1,000 a day and jailed for up to six months. Those who join the strike can be fined $50 a day.
The bill changes the law to specify that state employees can never strike and violators would be subject to those existing fines.
A Republican bill killed earlier this session would have required violators to be fired. GOP senators repeatedly tried to amend the bill to make it tougher but failed. In the end, most Republicans and Democrats supported the bill.
Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, was the only lawmaker to speak against it, arguing that it took away a basic right for workers.
