DENVER—Recognizing that workers across the country are struggling for jobs, organized labor leaders are working on improving their image with Colorado lawmakers and voters, acknowledging that times have changed and they need to change their tactics.
They call it a pro-active agenda for jobs in 2011. What they mean is any well-paying job with good benefits is a good job, as long as it’s American.
Gone are the days when they could push through legislation that would make it easier to set up all-union shops. The new image is aimed at appealing to patriotism and keeping all Americans working, not just union workers.
“No more Labor Peace Act. It would be ludicrous when everyone is talking about job creation to talk about the Labor Peace Act,” said Scott Wasserman, political director for Colorado WINS, the state employee union.
This week, the AFL-CIO and other unions are planning to announce a new agenda called “Reinvest in Colorado.” The initiatives include giving an edge to potential state contractors who hire at least 90 percent of their workers in Colorado and barring the state from awarding contracts to companies that outsource jobs overseas. Another proposal would stabilize the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund. The fund has been broke since June, forcing Colorado to join other states in borrowing money from the federal government to keep issuing unemployment checks.
The movement to improve the union image comes as national unions are hoping their local organizations will become more active in lobbying on state issues. Unions are changing their approach, recognizing that times have changed and voters are turned off by debates over union protectionism and state employee pay and benefits when millions of workers have lost their jobs.
State Rep. John Soper, D-Thornton, a member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said many people have complained that state workers are overpaid, even though they had pay cuts, furloughs and benefit cuts.
He said the proposed changes are good.
“Any time we can help working families is good, they don’t have to be union jobs,” Soper said.
Mike Cerbo, executive director of the Colorado AFL-CIO, said the new goal for unions is “helping bring our economy back.”
Cerbo said the initiatives are a recognition that times have changed and union priorities are changing with them.
“Use taxpayer dollars to put Coloradans back to work. We want to make sure our taxpayer dollars are used to keep Coloradans working and our money stays in Colorado. The only way for Colorado to emerge from this recession is to invest in the creation of good jobs with decent pay and benefits,” says a union legislative guide obtained by The Associated Press. The unions only make passing references to union jobs, saying “private sector jobs and public government jobs both mean dollars into our economy,” and they’re urging union leaders to avoid divisive issues.
Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp, a Republican from Littleton, is skeptical of union commitments to change.
“They should change. They’ve been out of step for decades and they’ve increased the cost of government,” he said.
Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, said he is reviewing executive orders enacted by his predecessor, Bill Ritter, that has allowed state employees unions to “partner” with state agencies to discuss employee concerns but said he has no plans to revoke it. Hickenlooper said there has been no rush to join state employee unions and he sees no reason to change it because it provides an opportunity for him to hear state workers’ concerns.
The bill to amend the Labor Peace Act and make it easier for unions to organize was vetoed by Ritter in 2007, angering union officials and heavily damaging his relationship with organized labor. The bill would have eliminated a second election in which 75 percent of those voting had to agree to create an all-union workplace. Ritter vetoed it, saying there was not enough discussion before it passed.
Ritter said he was wrong to believe he could fundamentally change the relationship between labor and management. That resulted in policies that angered both sides, including his veto of another bill that would have made it easier for unions to organize.
