Republicans will try to stop Ritter’s order

DENVER - Republicans vowed Tuesday to try to rescind Gov. Bill Ritter’s executive order creating partnerships with state employee unions and prohibiting public employees from striking.

A spokesman for the firstyear Democratic governor said he would support the no-strike bill, noting Ritter believes Friday’s order already covers striking.

Press Secretary Evan Dreyer reiterated, however, that Ritter has no plans to go back on an order that he considers a “moderate” change in public policy.

“I think it has descended into hysteria, irrationality and overheated partisan rhetoric,” Dreyer said of the booming criticism that has come from GOP and business leaders over the past five days.

“This is a very moderate, very unique Colorado plan to partner employees with managers.”

The executive order allows state employees to form unions and to choose a representative to be the sole voice of those workers in discussing issues such as salaries and working conditions with department and division heads.

It prohibits striking after agreements are reached and bars unions from exacting dues from nonunion employees.

It does not give them collective bargaining power under which disputes between workers and management might be settled by an independent third party.

Republicans have rallied against the order. Rep. Kent Lambert of Colorado Springs, who attended a rally at the Capitol on Tuesday, said Ritter’s bypassing of the public and legislative processes sets a dangerous tone for the 2008 legislative session.

A quartet of Republicans vowed to introduce a measure that will end the partnerships that Ritter created. House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, said that while passage of the bill is the ultimate goal, just having the issue discussed in an open forum is another reason to push the legislation.

“This governor has an obvious affinity for unilateral executive action,” said Sen. Josh Penry, R-Fruita. “Somewhere Dick Cheney is smiling.”

The other measure, which will be sponsored by GOP Rep. Bob Gardner of Colorado Springs, would ban public employees’ strikes. Gardner said the flaw in Ritter’s order is that it prohibits strikes only with agreements in place; Gardner’s measure would ban them under any circumstances.

Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia ban public workers’ strikes, and seven others ban striking for specific or “essential” government employee groups like firefighters and prison guards, according to data from the National Council of State Legislatures.

The Colorado Supreme Court struck down an early 20th century law that banned public strikes about 15 years ago, but Gardner, an attorney, said the new measure would clear up wording of the law to satisfy the court.

“Due to the order, the very real potential for state employee strikes now exists,” Gardner said.

Dreyer said: “If a no-strike bill were to pass through the Legislature, the governor would sign it.”

Other supporters of the executive order were not as conciliatory.

Craig Lis, a state water resources engineer who took time off from his job to see the GOP news conference, said he was concerned about what other provisions Republicans might add to the bill. He called it a “nonissue” because workers have not discussed striking.

Sen. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, said he sees no point in running a bill that would accomplish the same thing as Ritter’s order.

“I think they ought to spend their time trying to figure out why people are not voting for Republicans instead of trying to rescind executive orders,” Morse said.

CONTACT THE WRITER: (303) 837-0613 or ed.sealover@gazette.com