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BLAKE: 49er Caldara short on gold

By Peter Blake, Special to the Rocky

Published September 3, 2008 at 5:58 p.m.

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Amendment 49 on your bottomless fall ballot would make it harder for the fast-growing government unions to collect dues, but sponsor Jon Caldara insists it has nothing to do with the other initiatives pitting labor against business.

"Amendment 49 is not a labor issue and I'll repeat that," he said, which he did.

What is it, then? "It's a restriction on government. It's an ethics issue."

His proposal would prohibit all state and local governments in Colorado from deducting payments that benefit "private organizations and special interests" from paychecks they issue. It doesn't mention unions specifically, but they clearly would be most affected.

Deductions for taxes, Social Security, Medicare, liens, garnishments, child support, retirement plans, health insurance premiums and charitable gifts wouldn't be affected.

As Caldara, head of the Independence Institute, likes to put it, government would no longer be able to act as "the bagman for political special interests."

It's understandable why he would like to try to stay out of what promises to be a very expensive fight already under way between sponsors of Amendment 47, which would turn Colorado into a right-to-work state, and the four anti-business measures put on the ballot by the unions as a measure of revenge.

"Please don't lump me in with those other union, anti-union things," he asked. "It has nothing to do with that. Those are private-sector issues . . . This is a government issue."

But that doesn't mean the unions will ignore him. Indeed Amendment 49 has been listed as a target by Protect Colorado's Future, the group sponsoring two of the union measures as well as fighting No. 47.

After all, union growth has stalled out in the private sector. But the government has been what Caldara calls "low-hanging fruit" for the unions ever since Gov. Bill Ritter authorized nonbinding collective bargaining for state employees by executive order last November.

Caldara estimates unions have added 31,000 members since then, winning every election. Automatic dues deduction makes more money available to unions for political purposes.

No doubt passage of No. 49 would make it more difficult for unions to collect dues. But Caldara said that in the age of automatic bank transfers, union members can easily arrange to have dues deducted if they want. "Taxpayers don't have to be on the hook for doing the accounting, the bookkeeping and collection work for special interests and their lobbyists."

Caldara maintains it's a conflict of interest for, say, school board officials to be funneling money to local unions through paycheck deductions and then getting a check back from the same unions in the form of campaign contributions.

Government employees can arrange to stop dues deductions from paychecks now, but it can be a difficult process.

Caldara said that the commissioners of 12 counties have already passed regulations prohibiting dues payments through payroll deductions.

Opponents argue the measure interferes not only with the right of the employee to determine what he wants to deduct from his check, but the right of local governments to determine what deductions should be available to employees.

Caldara has endorsements from former Gov. Bill Owens and former Sen. Hank Brown, as well as various business groups.

What he doesn't have is cash. The initial report filed at the end of July by his campaign group, Ethical Standards Now, indicated no contributions. Since then, said Caldara, he's received "a little bit of money" and he hopes to raise more than $500,000. "Fundraising is very difficult" with so many issues on the ballot, he noted.

Meanwhile, the unions expect to raise more than $25 million to fight Amendments 47 and 49, and to promote their own issues.

There is one last complicating factor for Caldara. The unions are making an unprecedented effort to get both 47 and 49 thrown off the ballot because of allegedly faulty signature gathering, and the Colorado Supreme Court has agreed to review the case.

Peter Blake is a former Rocky Mountain News political columnist. He can be reached at pblake0705@comcast.net.

Comments

  • September 3, 2008

    9:01 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    bxwatso writes:

    Well, that's $25MM, the unions can't spend promoting their anti-business initiatives.

  • September 4, 2008

    12:07 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    jacka writes:

    Government workers have the Right-to-Work thanks to Bill Ritter and the consitution.

    Shouldn't the rest of Colorado enjoy the same right to keep your job and not be forced to pay union dues and fees.

    Coloradans should not have forced union membership as a condition of their employment.

    I say YES on Amendment 47.

  • September 4, 2008

    6:54 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Mike_In_Hartsel writes:

    The “fast-growing government unions” are a reflection of the Democrats like Ritter giving the unions the “right” to organize government workers whether they want to be or not. The unions are dying and the Dems keep pretending they are not by hampering the public with them.

    “the unions expect to raise more than $25 million to fight Amendments 47 and 49, and to promote their own issues.” They can’t make it their own merits but they have the union dues with which to promote legislation. Something’s very wrong here.

  • September 4, 2008

    3:27 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Elwood writes:

    $25 million in strike money down the drain. I wonder what the union members will think of this expense next time they go to strike and there are no funds left to pay the workers.

  • September 5, 2008

    5:47 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    gabbahey writes:

    "Caldara estimates unions have added 31,000 members since then, winning every election." Why were these elections won? Because the employees saw the benefits of unity!

  • September 7, 2008

    5:58 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    SodaPop writes:

    Caldera complains that the state government is "low-hanging fruit" for the unions, but then adamantly claims his anti-paycheck deduction scheme is not anti-union? Does he think we are stupid? What other organizations would be seriously effected? None. This is a stunt aimed at hampering unions and thus middle class families from improving their way of life.

    So Elwood and Mike_in_Hartsel think the $25 million unions are spending on this is waste? So they expect unions to sit their while amendments and legislation is passed that slowly stangles them and puts them out of existence? You can strike all day long, but it is far better to get legislation passed (or stopped) that supports your cause.

    Businesses do this all the time. They lobby. Heck, they put up the front money for anti-family Amendments like 47 (work for less amendment) and 49. Is that a waste? Does anyone expect them not to spend money, and lots of it, lobbying for laws that benefit them? Of course not, and neither should we expect unions and their members to not do it either. Typical conservative double standard.

  • September 7, 2008

    11:59 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    broncoswin99 writes:

    Maybe Caldara is short on cash because Colorado voters are smart enough to realize that his agenda is bad for our state.

    Please vote NO on Caldara and allies... stop 47, 49, and 54!

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