As we approach the traditional Labor Day kickoff for the fall election campaign, the top issues on the minds of Colorado voters, in poll after poll, are jobs and economic recovery.
Yet organized labor continues to push one measure that is guaranteed to cost hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country and deal a body blow to small business. So the question for candidates for the U.S. Senate and House is: where do you stand on “card check” – with the unions or with Colorado small business and workers?
Given the vital economic issues at stake, that’s the question that the newly formed Coalition for Colorado Jobs is asking of all federal candidates, With the continuing troubling economic news, and even more troubling jobs forecasts for the years to come, this is one of the critical and defining issues in the 2010 elections.
Consider the facts. A recent study by the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation shows that our state will continue to hemorrhage jobs at a pace well above the national average. Not a big surprise, given that the Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that 54 Colorado companies instituted mass layoffs in the first seven months of 2010.
Even more disturbing is that the study says it will take three years – to mid 2013 – to recover the 100,000-plus jobs the state has lost since 2009.
This is why a strong, jobs-recovery platform is essential for every candidate for the US House or Senate in 2010. And why embracing the Employee “Forced” Choice Act (EFCA) will be a tough sell to Colorado voters who are worried about what lies ahead for our economy.
Despite the continuing poor economic news and the fact that recovery is embryonic at best, labor unions here in Colorado and nationally continue to make EFCA a central priority. And, with their ability to funnel literally millions of dollars into elections, politicians are paying attention.
What is EFCA and why does it present such a threat to Colorado small business, individual workers and our economy as a whole?
The Employee ‘Forced” Choice Act would tip the balance in efforts to organize Colorado workplaces unfairly in the direction of union bosses, allowing for card check signature campaigns that would force workers to state their views about unionization in public and thus opening them up to pressure and coercion from organizers in the workplace.
The bill would benefit unions by creating a binding arbitration process run by government bureaucrats that would determine the terms of a contract without approval from employees or employers. It would also increase fines on small businesses for violating federal law – without increasing fines on unions for the same violations.
EFCA is the number one priority for national labor unions, has been introduced in four straight Congresses and would severely hurt Colorado employees and employers already struggling through tough economic times. Studies show that EFCA would cost 600,000 jobs in its first year.
In recent weeks, both President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have publicly said that passing EFCA is a key priority, and the head of the AFL-CIO reiterated that card check is remains high on the union’s priority list. While some may want to hope that union bailout measure fades into the background, its advocates continue to put it on center stage.
The Coalition for Colorado Jobs (CCJ) was created to educate voters about the devastating economic effects of EFCA and to get all federal candidates on the record on this issue. Voters need to know where these men and women stand on the expansion of union power before early voting starts in just a few weeks. Our questionnaire, the answers we are receiving, and key facts about EFCA are on our website at .
The jobs news and the continuing concern on minds of Coloradans make it essential that we know where our next Senator and Members of Congress on critical economic issues. Waking up the day after Election Day to labor bosses high-fiving each other is not the picture that small business, workers or our economy needs.
Sandra Hagen Solin is state director of the Coalition for Colorado Jobs (), an organization committed to protecting jobs in Colorado and standing up for small businesses and workers.
