By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance
Less than a week before the first scheduled hearing of a bill to rewrite Colorado’s Labor Peace Act, a coalition of business groups has released a poll that it argues shows voters of all stripes are overwhelmingly opposed to the proposed changes.
The 82-year-old law is unique among states in that it requires two votes for workers to unionize a company and then to allow automatic paycheck deductions to fund union negotiating activities. The first vote to unionize requires a simple majority, but the second vote to allow fee deductions needs 75% support — a provision that unions call an unnecessary barrier and that business leaders say keeps union-opposed workers from having to pay the organizations.