Can State and Labor Be Partners

Can State and Labor Be Partners

November 10, 2007

Your recent editorial attacking Gov. Bill Ritter and the labor movement was a spectacle of nonsense. This type of partisan fear-mongering should be reserved for political operatives and not anything that resembles an editorial board.

Beyond the inflammatory personal attacks, The Post wrongly contended that collective bargaining for state employees would hurt business. Economists have already debunked this holy grail of union-bashing arguments, pointing out that this public-sector order excludes a strike clause and binding arbitration. Yet, The Denver Post still felt necessary to cry foul in the name of executive privilege.

The benefits of collective bargaining simply cannot be denied. Unionized employees have far greater job security and benefits than non-members.

Collective bargaining is about checks and balances and due process in the workplace. The governor’s executive order is about improving government operations and bringing basic democratic principles to the state workforce. It is about understanding that when democracy is removed from the workplace, it is removed from society. And that is what the GOP and anti-labor forces really want, full and complete authority with “at will” employees who are “lucky to have a job.”

As a longtime labor organizer, I commend Gov. Ritter for taking a bold stand for progress in the face of hysterical opposition.

Timothy D. Allport, Littleton

Original link: http://blogs.denverpost.com/eletters/2007/11/10/can-state-and-labor-be-partners/804/