Right-to-work proponents file signatures

Organizers of a ballot initiative to make Colorado a right-to-work state filed more than 133,000 signatures with Secretary of State Mike Coffman's office today.

Backers need the signatures of 76,000 registered voters to get their initiative placed on the ballot. Coffman's office has 30 days to certify the signatures, and the measure could be placed on the November ballot after that, provided there are no legal challenges to it.

The initiative would ask voters to amend the state constitution to say that union membership and the payment of union dues or fees could not be mandatory. Unions have opposed the measure and have filed their own ballot proposals.

Right-to-work supporters filed the signatures despite the fact that Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter had held a meeting Monday in his Capitol office asking them to stand down. Ritter also is asking unions to withdraw their ballot proposals.

The governor's spokesman, Evan Dreyer, said Ritter wasn't giving up.

"There are still opportunities to descalate this situation and avoid a bitter, ugly battle in November," Dreyer said. "We will continue to communicate with all the stakeholders. Gov. Ritter feels very strongly about doing what is best for the entire state of Colorado, and that means trying to clear all these measures off the ballot."

Dreyer also rejected suggestions that the Monday meeting was a failure.

"The fact that there was a meeting where people were willing to sit down and discuss these issues was an important step," Dreyer said, ading that the next step is "to continue to reach out to the to stakeholders, talk with labor, talk to the business community devise a plan moving forward."

Dreyer, though, said he knew of no future meetings scheduled with business leaders, saying "that doesn't preclude meetings in an impromptu fashion."

With today's filing of signatures, some individual right-to-work supporters came forward publicly in a statment from A Better Colorado, the group pushing the initiative.

"This is an exciting day for Colorado," said Jonathan Coors, director of CoorsTek, who was at Monday's meeting. "This amendment will give Colorado workers the freedom to decide for themselves whether or not to join a union and protect the rights of all employees in the state."

"It’s fundamentally unfair to be forced to join a union to get a job or keep a job," said Chuck Berry, president of the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, which has endorsed the measure. "Colorado must take steps to keep the jobs we have and attract new, high-paying jobs in the future. If passed, this initiative will be good for Colorado’s economy."

Amy Sherman, president of the West Chamber in Jefferson County also praised the initiative, saying, "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."

Other supporters included Dan Thurlow, chairman of Colorado Printing Co. in Grand Junction, and Mark Latimer, with the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors.

Unions tried to cast suspicion on the ballot initiative.

"Based on what's come to our attention, we believe the backers of the initiative submitted today engaged in broad misrepresentation and fraud to gather their signatures," said Jess Knox, executive director of Protect Colorado's Future, a coalition of unions and advocates for the poor that is pushing two ballot proposals aimed at punishing corporate fraud and making it harder to fire workers.

The group last week filed complaints alleging that signature gatherers were fraudulently telling people they didn't have to be registered voters and could even sign petitions twice.

On Tuesday, the head of the state AFL-CIO filed complaints alleging that the Colorado Right-to-Work Commitee, the group that organized the signature drive and formed before the creation of A Better Colorado, had not been reporting its campaign contributions or expenditures as required by law.

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