Unions fight rule changes for political contributions

Plan would require all members to opt in for campaign giving

John C. Ensslin, Rocky Mountain News

Thursday, October 5, 2006

Union leaders Wednesday urged Colorado Secretary of State Gigi Dennis to back off further attempts to change campaign finance rules.

Specifically, they want her to drop her proposed requirement that unions and other organizations get each member's written permission before the groups donate money to political campaigns.

About 30 people, mostly from United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 7, packed a public hearing on several rule changes that the secretary of state's office has proposed.

"I think this is a terrible waste of taxpayer dollars," Local 7 President Ernest L. Duran Jr. told Dennis and a panel from the elections division. "Do not implement these rules. Do not create more litigation."

Duran noted that his union allows members to "opt out" of campaign contributions by requesting that none of their dues go to political committees. About 700 Local 7 members have chosen to do so.

But Duran argued that federal labor law prohibits the state from adding a requirement of asking members to "opt in" by giving their permission to make campaign contributions.

Last week, the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction against Dennis, ruling that she overstepped her authority by requiring unions and other membership organizations to get their members to approve using their dues to make contributions to so-called "small-donor" political committees.

However, Dennis contends the ruling applies only to the two unions that brought the lawsuits. Mark Grueskin, lawyer for the two unions, contends the court ruling applies to every membership organization. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions are at stake in the issue.

At the start of Wednesday's hearing, Dennis told the audience that the rules process is in a preliminary stage.

"These are only proposed rules. Nothing has been finalized," she said.

Later Dennis said that even if the proposals are adopted, they would not apply to the election this November because of regulations governing when an approved rule change can take effect.

Several speakers, however, warned Dennis that she would be exceeding her authority if she did try to adopt the proposed changes.

"I think these rules are trying to create laws that don't exist," said Jenny Flanagan, executive director of Colorado Common Cause. Flanagan argued that the issues the rules seek to address ought to be debated within the state legislature.

Much of the discussion at Wednesday's hearing centered on a rule change that would prevent organizations from accepting political donations that arrive anonymously in the form of cash dropped in the mail or at an event.

Elections officials said questions about such donations crop up weekly, but usually involve small amounts of cash, usually less than $100.

Grueskin agreed the situation is a problem but questioned whether it poses a big problem.