Denver Post, November 6, 2008, Thursday

Denver Post

November 6, 2008, Thursday

Denver Post

Election a giant step for labor

Obama's win and the defeat of Amendment 47 help the groups.

By Andy Vuong

Organized labor emerged victorious nationally and in Colorado on Election Day, as its work helped propel perhaps the most union- friendly presidential candidate in years to the White House and defeat an anti-labor Colorado ballot measure.

Labor groups have a strong ally in President-elect Barack Obama, who included references to union members in his 30-minute infomercial last week and closed his campaign with a last-minute stop at a United Auto Workers phone bank in Indiana.

"His ties to the labor movement were upfront," said Richard Hurd, a labor-studies professor at Cornell University. "(Unions) expect that they're going to have much more access to this administration than they had even during the Clinton years, so labor probably feels pretty good today."

Many observers expect unions to make another push to pass the federal Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier to organize workplaces. It would eliminate the secret-ballot requirement in workplace elections, making it mandatory, instead of voluntary, for businesses to recognize a union if a majority of their employees sign a union card.

In Colorado, unions helped Democrat Mark Udall win the U.S. Senate seat that will be vacated by Republican Sen. Wayne Allard. They scored another victory when Democrat Betsy Markey won the 4th Congressional District race against incumbent Republican Marilyn Musgrave, who had previously pushed for a federal "right to work" law.

Unions spent more than $25 million to defeat Amendment 47, the statewide right-to-work ballot measure that sought to prohibit mandatory union fees as a condition of employment.

"What that does is stop the momentum of right-to-work," said Ray Hogler, management professor at Colorado State University.

The last time a statewide right- to-work measure was defeated was in 1978, said union political consultant Steve Welchert.

Labor's victories have some business officials concerned about whether unions will target the Colorado Labor Peace Act next year. The act makes it tougher for unions to mandate union fees, requiring a second supermajority vote after organizing a workplace.

The Democratic-controlled state legislature passed a bill in 2007 that would have eliminated the second vote, but it was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter.

"Clearly, organized labor has been energized by its campaign against 47 and by the fracture within the business community that resulted in certain business groups and business leaders aligning with them to fight Amendment 47," said Dan Pilcher, chief operating officer of the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry.

Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com