Not backing off

Governor inexplicably keeps collective bargaining hopes alive

Published September 18, 2007 at midnight

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Gov. Bill Ritter continues to insist that state employees don't "feel valued," as he said on Mike Rosen's KOA talk show last Thursday, and that a "partnership for the 21st century" is needed to "acknowledge the work of state employees, to take their input, to \[deliver] a better service to taxpayers."

Who on earth could oppose any of those objectives? Why wouldn't the public prefer an entrepreneurial state work force that's constantly aiming to improve its performance?

And if these are the governor's goals, why doesn't he simply implement them?

The self-described "CEO of state government" could start by instructing department heads to move toward a more collaborative working arrangement with state employees - and if his current management team can't do that, Ritter could find new leaders who will.

And yet e-mails, memos and other documents that have come to light in the past month suggest that the governor is interested in the idea of collective bargaining for state employees. That would require a change in state law.

The governor has not denied that collective bargaining might be a part of his legislative agenda. Instead, he's tried to downplay the impact it would have on state budgets. This indicates that he understands how radioactive the topic can be. On the Rosen show, for instance, Ritter said that collective bargaining might be able to co-exist with the current law that governs employee compensation.

We don't see how. The state personnel director now uses labor market surveys to recommend pay and benefits, which require legislative approval. With collective bargaining in place, compensation levels (including raises) would be established by negotiation and sealed by contract. That's what collective bargaining means. Even if the legislature still approved the contract, the overall process would clearly change.

And for what purpose? Colorado state employees rank ninth nationally in compensation, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics recently reported by the Rocky's Chris Barge. They earn 25 percent more than their counterparts in neighboring states and 9 percent more than the national average.

Medical benefits may still lag what the private sector generally offers, but they've improved in recent years. That progress occurred without collective bargaining, mind you.

Public employees also have greater job security and much more generous retirement benefits than their private-sector counterparts. And if state workers win collective-bargaining rights, local government employees won't be far behind.

Ritter doesn't need the legislature's help to ensure that the knowledge and experience of "line workers" are incorporated into agency planning, or guarantee that workers have a greater voice in department policy.

When the governor says collective bargaining "may or may not be" needed to establish such a partnership with state workers, there's one sure way he could find out: See how far this partnership can go without it.

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