We depend on firefighters to protect our families, save our houses and rush into burning buildings when everyone else is rushing out. Now a small group of special interests is pushing Amendment 49 in an attempt to take away firefighters’ ability to advocate for the equipment and resources that keep them and our communities safe. How do I know this? Because I am a firefighter and I am working to make sure this doesn’t happen.
Amendment 49 will put the divisive agenda of a small group of special interests ahead of Coloradans. This measure will make it harder for firefighters to advocate for changes to our emergency preparedness systems, for nurses to advocate for higher staffing levels and for teachers to get the resources they need to teach our children.
This is a simple matter of the backers of this amendment, the Independence Institute, wanting to silence the political voices of our firefighters, nurses, teachers and police officers. The question is why? These are the people who teach our children, protect our communities and help us when we are sick. Even though they trust us with life and death decisions, groups like the Independence Institute now want to tell us what we can — and can’t — do with our own paychecks, something government cannot do to people in any other profession.
Amendment 49 will interfere with public employees” personal choice over how they want to spend their hard-earned paychecks. Our Colorado teachers, nurses, police officers and firefighters should be able to determine how they spend their own money, just like every other Coloradan. That’s why voters in many states, like California, Oregon and Nevada, have rejected a similar proposal on multiple occasions.
Private companies let employees deduct portions of their pay to make periodic payments for contributions to various groups. Why should public servants be excluded from having deductions made from their paychecks when we cover all the fees and request for the deductions to be done?
The Independence Institute would like you to believe that Amendment 49 will save the Colorado taxpayers money. This is simply not true. If you don’t believe me read the Blue Book. The Legislative Council puts it in print for all the voters of Colorado to read: This measure won’t save taxpayers a penny.
Amendment 49’s only effect will be to silence the voices of my fellow firefighters and our state’s hard-working teachers, nurses and police officers. I believe strongly that we should not have fewer rights because of the professions we chose. Yet, that’s exactly what this amendment will do.
We firefighters need our fellow Coloradans to answer our call for help because we always answer yours. The special interests backing Amendment 49 are going to spend the next four weeks trying to mislead you about what this measure will do. I urge you to listen instead to the firefighters, teachers, nurses and police officers who will be silenced by this measure. Please join us in voting “no” on Amendment 49.
Joel Heinemann is a firefighter in Littleton.
