April 18--DENVER --A rewritten version of a bill giving more union rights to firefighters won preliminary approval in the state House Wednesday, but still drew opposition from Republicans who say it interferes with local control.
Now voters must grant bargaining rights to firefighter unions. SB 25, as introduced, would have allowed firefighters to unionize with a supermajority vote by members, giving them broader bargaining power without permission from taxpayers.
Now the bill -- in a compromise struck after Gov. John Hickenlooper said he would not support it -- would empower firefighter unions to negotiate on safety issues like adequate staffing levels, equipment and procedures, but not on salary.
As a former battalion chief from Colorado Springs, where voters have twice defeated ballot measures to allow collective bargaining for firefighters, Democratic Rep. Tony Exum, said he supports the bill.
"You were not allowed to be politically active or voice your opinion in uniform or out of uniform," Exum said. "If you had collective bargaining it would not break the bank. It would just grant you a voice."
Rep. Dan Nordberg, R-Colorado Springs, said the bill is an infringement on local control, pointing out that voters in his district defeated unions twice and a third effort couldn't get enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot.
"Let's don't override the will of the voters, this is a bad bill," Nordberg said.
Rep. Angela Williams, D-Denver, said the bill gives firefighters a process to address their concerns.
Under the bill, firefighters could seek a public vote on issues like pay raises. To do that, 75 percent of members would have to agree. Then the union would have to run a petition campaign to get their concerns on the ballot.
Current law would require citizens, not the union, to run the campaign over an issue like pay raise.
"The issue is that we're creating a mechanism for firefighters to get something on the ballot that absolutely no other group has," House Republican Leader Mark Waller, of Colorado Springs said.
Waller said he hopes Hickenlooper will veto the bill, if it passes, as Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter did to a similar measure that came to his desk in 2009.
The bill faces one more House vote and then the Senate will have to approve the new version before it goes to the governor.
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Contact Megan Schrader
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Twitter: @CapitolSchrader
Copyright 2013 - The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
