DENVER—Defying a request from Gov. Bill Ritter, a business and employee coalition submitted 133,000 signatures Wednesday in hopes of putting a measure on the ballot asking voters to make Colorado a “right-to-work” state.
The measure would prohibit mandatory union membership or mandatory union dues. If the secretary of state verifies the petitions have enough valid signatures, it will appear on the November ballot.
Ritter met with business leaders on Monday to try to talk them out of it, warning initiatives are cluttering the constitution.
The governor said he also wants to persuade labor leaders not to promote seven competing ballot initiatives, including proposals requiring employers to give annual cost-of-living increases and provide health insurance.
Ritter’s spokesman, Evan Dreyer, said informal discussions are continuing with both sides but no formal talks are planned.
“There are still opportunities to de-escalate this. Just because they filed the signatures does not mean it’s a slam-dunk it will be on the ballot,” Dreyer said.
Kelley Harp, spokesman for A Better Colorado, which is backing the right-to-work measure, refused to reveal what business leaders and Ritter discussed Monday but said no further talks are scheduled, to his knowledge.
“Any negotiations that took place are private,” Harp said.
He said the fact that the coalition gathered more than the 76,047 required signatures showed it has broad support from businesses and voters.
Jess Knox, a spokesman for a coalition representing labor unions and progressive organizations, said the group will challenge the signatures. The coalition filed a complaint with the secretary of state accusing the right-to-work group of using deception to gather the signatures.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 7 is hoping to put five initiatives on the November ballot, including the measures on cost-of-living raises and health insurance.
The union is also sponsoring proposals to deny tax breaks and incentives to companies that relocate jobs outside Colorado, require businesses to pay more in property taxes and allow injured workers to sue employers outside the workers’ compensation system.
A separate coalition of unions and political groups is sponsoring two other initiatives, one requiring employers to show just cause for firing a worker and another setting criminal and civil penalties for business leaders who commit fraud.
Backers of those seven proposals have not submitted petitions.
Amy Sherman, the president and CEO of the West Chamber in Jefferson County, said employees should be able to decide for themselves if they want to join a union.
“Giving employees the right to choose whether or not to join a union will make labor more accountable to everyone, providing better service and representation in the workplace,” she said.
She said under current law, workers in Colorado can be forced to join a union as a condition of employment, limiting opportunities for many Colorado workers.
Jonathan Coors, the director of CoorsTek and one of the executives who met with the governor on Monday, said the constitutional amendment would protect the rights of all employees.
Mark Latimer of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors insisted the measure is not meant to pit business against labor.
“Right to work is neither anti-union nor pro-union; it is pro-freedom. Freedom for employees to work where they want without being coerced to join a union and pay union dues as a condition of employment,” Latimer said.
