An amazingly heavy-handed example of federal government intrusion into the rights of states, cities and towns is speeding through Congress and needs to be stopped.
The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act would amount to a federal takeover of how states and local governments interact with their employees in public safety, fire departments and emergency medical technicians.
It appears to have the strong support of the House and President Obama, so we call on our senators, Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, to do what’s right for Colorado and scuttle this bad bill in the Senate.
The bill would mandate that every state recognize collective bargaining with police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians.
The massive change contradicts 75 years of labor law, and critics are right to question the intrusion to states’ rights, as well as the rights of cities, to work out contracts with public employees as their constituencies see fit.
Further, even in those states that already support collective bargaining with public workers, the Federal Labor Relations Authority would now exert control and implementation of the collective bargaining rules.
Colorado already allows its local governments to recognize collective bargaining agreements if voters give their approval.
Gov. Bill Ritter wisely rejected a similar state effort last year when firefighters tried to require the state to mandate recognition of unions. We argued at the time that local decisions should be made at the local level, especially when it comes to personnel matters, wages and benefits. Those are not state or federal issues.
Ritter vetoed the bill, arguing correctly that firefighters already can obtain collective bargaining rights — in 2008, Longmont voters approved such rights for public safety employees — and it would be improper to overturn the will of local voters.
Fortunately, a similar effort to mandate collective bargaining for state and local peace officers appears to be foundering in the legislature this year.
Both the National Municipal League and the Colorado Municipal League, which represent towns and cities, oppose the federal legislation.
CML’s executive director, Sam Mamet, tells us he doubts passage of such a bill could withstand Supreme Court scrutiny, which it most certainly would face.
In his time as chief of staff to Mayor John Hickenlooper and during his stint as superintendent of Denver Public Schools, Bennet saw firsthand the complexities of negotiating labor contracts. We would hope that experience guides the senator as he approaches this bill and we urge him to follow the principled leadership Ritter displayed in protecting local rights.
In his campaign ads, Bennet argues that special interests have broken Washington.
We urge the senator to keep that broken system out of Colorado.
