SMART Transportation Division Colorado State Legislative Director Carl Smith reports that legislators in his state are again considering a Right to Work For Less bill.
This is the second time in two years that politicians are attempting to undermine the right to union representation in that state, Smith said. The bill, this time known as HB18-1030 “Prohibit Discrimination Labor Union Participation,” is scheduled to be heard in the Colorado House State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 24.
“Last year, we were able to provide excellent testimony and pack the room to defeat this bad legislation and send a strong statement on our thoughts about the bill,” Smith said.
Smith again asks members to unite to provide a strong turnout in opposition to this attack and is seeking SMART TD members in his state to testify before the committee in Denver.
To sign up, visit this link: https://goo.gl/forms/JhLmxn5Q9h4Dycyr2 or email Smith at ColoSMARTUnion@gmail.com.
The goal of this type of legislation ultimately is to reduce your wages – to take money out of your pocket and to further line the pocketbooks of businesses at your expense. Right to Work For Less bills are falsely portrayed by their corporate-friendly backers as anti-discriminatory or as preserving individual rights. In reality, this kind of legislation is a thinly-veiled attempt to bust unions, to jeopardize union members’ livelihoods by making workplaces more dangerous and to maximize business profits by paying you less.
In 2008, Colorado voters were on our side and overwhelmingly rejected a ballot initiative that tried to install Right to Work For Less legislation in the state.
But since then, Smith said, misguided anti-union legislators have continued to introduce Right To Work For Less bills.
In this latest attempt, Colorado Rep. Justin Everett and state Sen. Tim Neville, both Republicans, are the primary sponsors. Everett’s office phone number is 303-866-2927. Neville’s is 303-866-4873.
Ten additional representatives and two additional senators also are signed on as sponsors of HB18-1030.
The representatives are Perry Buck, Stephen Humphrey, Timothy Leonard, Kimmi Lewis, Patrick Neville, Kim Ransom, Lori Saine, Kevin Van Winkle, Dave Williams and Cole Wist.
The senators are Chris Holbert and Vicki Marble.
Once we have come together to crush this legislative attack on our union and others, SMART TD members in Colorado are encouraged to remember this betrayal and to vote accordingly the next time they see these politicians’ names on the ballot.
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