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House OKs state worker strike ban

Alan Gathright and Chris Barge

Published January 30, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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House lawmakers on Tuesday passed a Democratic bill to bar state workers from striking despite Republicans' criticism that it had no teeth.

Rep. Jim Riesberg, D-Greeley, introduced HB 1189 after concerns arose that Gov. Bill Ritter's Nov. 2 executive order giving unions a larger voice in state government could not prevent organized workers from striking.

Ritter has said he would sign such a bill, though he contends that his order is plenty clear in its strike prohibition.

But Rep. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs, whose competing bill was killed in a Democratic-controlled committee last week, rose to argue that Riesberg's bill lacks sufficient penalties to prevent strikes.

"It is our view that it does not have any teeth . . . to prohibit a strike," Gardner said.

He introduced amendments to allow a court to block a strike and to increase penalties against striking workers, including firing them.

But the amendments failed on voice votes after majority Democrats argued that there already are laws on the books with sufficient penalties for state workers who strike, including being charged with a misdemeanor and fined.

Republicans weren't buying it.

"What House Bill 1189 represents is nothing more than a bait-and-switch that will hurt the Colorado taxpayer," said Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch. "House Bill 1189, if passed, has no teeth and thus no protection for Colorado taxpayers."

The bill passed but will require another vote by the full House. The Senate also must consider it.

In the end, it had bipartisan majority support - both from Democrats, who supported clearing up any ambiguity on strikes in the wake of Ritter's order, and from Republicans, who voted for it because it was better than nothing.

Gardner said after the vote that he considered the passage of Riesberg's bill a small victory for his party, which raised the issue of the need to put a strike ban in the law.

Riesberg called his bill an opportunity to clear up a concern with Ritter's order and move on to more pressing issues, such as improving health care, education, the economy and transportation.

"That's the most important point," he said.