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Dave Growley of Littleton writes:

Last Friday Governor Ritter issued Executive Order D 028 07 which gives state employees the right to choose if they would like to be represented by a labor union and what union would represent them. I have been disappointed by the venous attacks directed against the governors proposed partnership with his employees and labor unions. I have been working for the state for two and a half years. During my tenure I have seen a staggering amount of waste and poor managerial decisions. Millions of mine and your tax dollars flushed away on poorly conceived and incompetently run projects. Nothing burns me more that hearing about the spending limitations of TABOR while seeing bushellfuls of money being carted out the door into the coffers of consulting companies. I have personally been involved in some of these projects and seen my fellow employees completely disregarded and chastised for sounding the alarm over impending problems on these projects. In short, no independent voice for the employees meant no voice at all.
After two and a half years in state government I can safely say that business as usual is not good business for the state employees or the citizens that we serve. We need bold leadership that is willing to work with employees who have the “boots on the ground” experience and knowledge to devise an implement 21st century solutions. Being able to partner with labor unions allows the chorus of state employee voices to be channeled into one.
In the end we will be stronger more efficient and all of us will reap the rewards and benefits.
No one has ever accused government of being overly efficient, and with good reason. Many citizens perceive government services as a joke and something, like trying to renew a drivers license or a call for unemployment benefits, that must be endured. In short, citizens expect poor service from the government and that is unacceptable. Formalizing an employee union partnership is a critical step in addressing many of the issues that have plagued government. We, as state employees, now have the same freedom as those in the private sector, namely whether or not we choose union representation. This partnership finally gives us the vehicle we to make an difference in our jobs and the services we provide. There has never been a better time to be a state employee or a citizen in Colorado because, with Governor Ritters Executive Order D 028 07, everyone in Colorado Wins.

This letter has not been edited.

READER COMMENTS

Dave - As a member of the Federal Government and a Union Member for many years - I must say that your idea of what a union will do is 'pie in the sky'. The Federal Government is extremely wasteful and my union could can less. The only concern of the union is pay, benefits, and some job concerns.

dave if it was such an important issue why did good ole bill i owe the unions and screw the tax payers ritter do this in the dark of night and not even let the elected officials of his own union loving party have a voice in this?

if you think the union will voice your opinion or objections to waste you have yet to have your eyes opened. what the unions want is your dues and to reduce your productivity to the lowest level of any worker there as in unions everyone is equal and that is a fact.
this was the only way ritter could pay back the unions and they now know that he is in their back pocket.

When we keep American workers from organizing, we further empower the corporate bosses to keep the workers down. The desire to organize is very strong among humans and animals both. And for good reason. In numbers there is strength. One way corporations increase their power over the American people is by either organizing or merging, both of which serve the same purpose. Naturally, they would like a monopoly on the right to organize.

I have a question what if thes tate employee votes no is he or she like other union shops going to lose his or her job or are they going to have to pay even if they do not want to be part of a union?

Dave, me problem with the Governors handling of this is that he took executive privilege and with the wave of his pen he put thisinto effect. The devil is in the details, if the workers of Colorado wantto be Unionized than let the the vote take place as a majority of the employees not a majority of those who vote. If you continue to think it is such a good idea and can get a majority of people to folow you than so be it AND WE wil reap the consequences, but do not be intelectually dishonest and tell me it is about how much more efficient we will be, we are talking about a huge beauracracy not a mom and pop store.

I get a kick out of how ignorant some of the posters are. For example, one said Ritter signed the order "in the dark of night ". According to the Independence Institute program I just listened to it was around 3pm Friday afternoon.

For those interested in other than rant or rave, a clear minority on the forum, here are some statements about the order:

"Ritter's press release accompanying the executive order explicitly noted: "This order does not require employees to join an employee organization, nor does it require them to pay dues or agency fees if they do not join.""

"November 4 news article noted that the executive order does not grant traditional collective bargaining rights."

"the executive order bars employee organizations from striking and obtaining binding arbitration, and any fiscal impacts of partnership agreements reached under the executive order are not binding on either the governor or on the legislature. According to the article:"

"But workers now will have the right to collectively negotiate on matters of workplace safety, training and efficiency. Employees -- represented by the union of their choice -- can bargain on any "issues of mutual concern," including wages, health care and staffing.

The legislature, however, gives up none of its authority to set the state budget, which means lawmakers could toss out any agreement that costs money. And the governor is not bound to include such agreements in his annual budget proposal."

Always good to hear from my fans. Thanks guys.

The workers will not be required to join the union if they don't want to. But, the union can, against the employees wishes, collect money from the employee to pay for the costs associated with the bargaining with the state. This is called the Fair Share rule. The theory is the employee gets a benefit from the bargaining and therefore should pay their fair share of the associated costs. This can include the salaries of the bargainers, the rent value of the rooms used to discuss strategy and anything else they can think of to jack the cost up. The employees don't get a free ride up the pay escalator. The money taken is only for the bargaining and they do not get any other benefits such as representation if they have a problem at work.

Truth rarely lives up to his name. I often disagree with his view. However, "Truth" spoke the truth about this issue. Read the executive order. Gov. Ritter must be having a wonderful time. In the span of a few months he has been accused of being anti-union and in union pockets. Good luck Gov.

Tom: "Truth rarely lives up to his name."

What I really like about you, Tom, is that you always support your opinions with facts. You must have had a good upbringing.

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