-By Warner Todd Huston
The folks at the Aspen Times have come out in support of Amendment 54 this week. In November Coloradans will be tasked with voting on three Amendments that are ostensibly anti-union measures of which 54 is one. The Times also reports that several other union oriented amendments have been removed from the ballot.
The Aspen Times came out against Amendments 47 and 49 but for a curious reason.
To us, the first question to ask about all these measures is whether they merit a constitutional amendment. There should be a compelling reason to amend the Colorado Constitution, and we don’t think a tug-of-war between business and labor belongs in the state’s most fundamental guiding document — regardless of which side you’re on.
Unfortunately, the time to fight that battle is before such measures end up on the ballot, not after! Still, the point is well taken on merits.
The Times does see “merit” in 47, though.
We actually see some merit in Amendment 47, which despite its anti-union roots would nonetheless protect workers’ freedom of choice, and Amendment 49, which would take the government out of the union dues-collecting business. But we don’t believe these issues deserve treatment in the state Constitution.
Still, they urge a no vote on 47 and 49. But, they support 54 completely.
The only measure in this group that addresses a basic aspect of governmental operation is 54, which would bar certain government contractors from making political contributions during the terms of their contracts and for two years thereafter.
The idea here is to prevent payoffs to government officials in exchange for no-bid government contracts, which we feel is a common-sense move toward clean government. Isn’t that what constitutions are for?
Unfortunately, a no vote on any of them tend to give succor to unions. So, we here at the blog urge a yes vote on all three — whether they are improperly offered as Amendments or not.
Finally, there is news on Amendments 53,55,56 and 57, all of which are pro-union measures. Due to a back room deal with the business community, these pro-union measures have been canceled. Unfortunately, it was an odd deal that was struck allowing the removal.
The four canceled measures were withdrawn from the ballot as part of a deal last week between business and labor groups in Denver. In exchange for pulling the pro-labor measures from the ballot, the labor groups have accepted $3 million from business groups to fight Amendment 47, the so-called right-to-work measure that would bar employers from requiring new workers to join unions as a condition of their employment. That’s right — business and labor interests struck a somewhat bizarre deal (some have already called it an unholy alliance) to remove several onerous measures from the state ballot; the good news for voters is that there are fewer complex issues to consider.
So, be aware Coloradans. A yes vote on Amendments 47,49,and 54 are votes FOR worker rights and freedom.
Vote accordingly.
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Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, townhall.com, New Media Journal, Men’s News Daily and the New Media Alliance among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston