DENVER, Sept. 26 – Despite a well-organized yearlong campaign to keep three antilabor initiatives from reaching the Colorado ballot, voters there will now decide the fate of many Colorado working families. The passage of these initiatives will have a devastating impact on both public and private sector unions:
- Amendment 47: “Right to Work”
- Amendment 49: “Paycheck Deception,” which will eliminate payroll deduction for public sector unions.
- Amendment 54: “Open and Clean Government Act” would prohibit any person, or family member, of anyone who works on a government contract –or has a collective bargaining agreement –from contributing to a candidate and/or advocating for an issue at any level. This initiative has built-in loopholes so that the laws would not apply to large multi-national corporations such as defense contractors and energy or drug companies.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney has called upon all union members across the country to help Colorado labor in its fight against these potentially disastrous initiatives. Colorado is an early vote and vote by mail state. Voters there are able to cast ballots as early as Oct. 5, which makes immediate action of vital importance. Local unions around the country have contributed to the fight against these ballot initiatives, including the 150,000 member Sheet Metal Workers International Association and 37 Sheet Metal Workers locals nationwide.
In a statement, Sweeney said, “If we lose this fight this year in Colorado, we will see these initiatives springing up in states all around the country – states like Indiana, Michigan, Maine, and Montana, were initiatives or legislation are already being threatened.”
To help Colorado in its fight for working families please contact your State and/or Central Labor body.
