Four Labor Initiatives Withdrawn in Colorado

October 7, 2008, Jennie Drage Bowser
Ballot Measures Overview

A last-minute deal between backers of four union-sponsored initiatives and leaders of the state’s business community resulted in the withdrawal of the union initiatives from Colorado’s ballot late last week. In return for the removal of the union measures, the business community pledged to raise $3 million to help fight three anti-union initiatives that remain on the ballot, and to lend manpower to the fight.

That leaves a total of 14 measures on Colorado’s ballot this year, and 10 of them are citizen initiatives (the remaining four were referred by the state legislature). Colorado’s ballot is still the longest in the country this year. The longest ballot in Colorado history came in 1912, when there were 32 measures total, 20 of them initiatives. Until this year, the second-longest ballot was in 1992, with 13 questions total, 10 of them initiatives.

Nationwide, there are 152 statewide measures on the ballot on November 4, a number that is likely to climb to 153 this week with the expected approval of a popular referendum on a payday loan bill. Of the total, 59 of the measures are citizen initiatives.

The three measures that the business/union coalition is fighting are:

Amendment 47 – prohibition on mandatory labor union membership and dues

Amendment 49 – allowable government paycheck deductions

Amendment 54 – campaign contributions from certain government contractors

All three are viewed as hostile to labor. Amendment 47 would make Colorado a “right-to-work” state. All of Colorado’s neighbors, with the exception of New Mexico, have laws similar to Amendment 47. Amendment 49 would extend Colorado’s “paycheck protection” laws to include local government. Currently, paycheck deductions for union dues are banned for state government employees. Amendment 54 would prohibit organizations that make campaign contributions in excess of $100,000 from winning government contracts. The measure includes unions that represent government workers in its definition of such organizations.

The four measures that were withdrawn on October 2 were:

Amendment 53 – criminal accountability for business executives

Amendment 55 – allowable reasons for employee discharge or suspension

Amendment 56 – employer responsibility for health insurance

Amendment 57 – additional remedies for injured employees

The business community agreed to join forces with labor to fight these four measures because they were viewed as a potential threat to the state’s business climate and economy if they were to pass. View the Colorado Ballot Information Booklet for more information on all of these measures.

Contact for More Information

For more information on ballot measures, contact Jennie Drage Bowser in NCSL’s Denver office.