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Unholy Alliance: Labor Unions and the Denver Chamber of Commerce

by | 1:12 pm, October 25, 2008 | Comments Off

Amendment 54 is a Colorado ballot initiative that would keep any organization and its principals that receive no-bid government contracts from donating to political campaigns. The complete text is here.

It makes it harder to get rich via government corruption. It prohibits a company that receives a no-bid government contract from paying off the politicans that gave the contract in the first place. One might think this kind of quid pro quo would already be illegal. It is not.

Why do the unions oppose it?

Tom Lucero explains:

Amendment 54 does define EXCLUSIVE collective bargaining agreements as a NO-BID government contract. What does that mean for the unions? It means that union PACs are prohibited from giving to candidates and political parties. Individual union
members can still contribute to the campaigns of their choice. The unions can still sit
at the table with governmental agencies to negotiate their contracts.

Why is the Denver Chamber against it?

Well, the Denver Chamber sold its proverbial soul. The Denver Chamber worked out a deal with the unions. The unions agreed to pull four anti-business inititiatives from the ballot in exchange for a $3 million payoff from the Chamber and an agreement to help defeat, among other initiatives, Amendment 54.

Quid pro quo, in deed.

The Chamber is having trouble raising the money it promised. An excerpt from an email sent to "Colorado Concern" members explains:

Many of you have already made a contribution to support Colorado Businesses for Sensible Solutions (CBSS), the newly formed coalition that was instrumental in removing the four labor-sponsored ballot initiatives (Amendments 53, 55, 56 and 57).  We appreciate your support, and collectively, we have come a long way in a short amount of time on the fundraising commitment of $3 million - but we urgently need your financial support to ensure we meet our obligation. 
 
Accordingly, we are asking every one of you to make a minimum contribution of $10,000 or as much as $100,000 – corporate or individual funds – by noon on Friday, October 24.  Funds can be wired to the CBSS account (details attached) or checks can be couriered to Janice Sinden at the Colorado Concern office (140 East 19th Avenue, Suite 400, Denver, CO  80203 – Phone:  303.241.6607).
 
The campaign has refocused its attention and is now solely working to defeat Amendment 54.
Amendment 54 would prohibit entities that have a no-bid contract with any public entity from making a campaign contribution has a slight advantage in the polls.  This amendment would have devastating impacts on both the business community as well as the nonprofit sector and therefore your financial support is urgently needed.  For more information on Amendment 54 please read the information below which is followed by an editorial from The Denver Post advocating the defeat of this poorly crafted and potentially devastating amendment.
 
BACKGROUND:
 
Amendment 54 - Constitutional
Campaign Contributions for Certain Government Contractors: 
Amendment 54 is focused on stopping entities that have a no-bid contract with any public entity from making campaign contributions to political parties, candidates and ballot campaigns.
 
Why oppose Amendment 54?
The proposal has First Amendment ramifications by politically silencing businesses that have a sole-source contract with a public entity.  Additionally, the nonprofit sector is adversely affected as they may have sole-source contracts, such as the provisions for health care and social services.  Rural Colorado is also impacted, as in some our state's smaller communities there are limited numbers of businesses that are able/equipped to bid on public contracts, making a sole-source award more common.


Lucero sent a follow up message to the same recipients. It says, in part:

Bottom line, we find it ironic that these same organizations that supported
Amendment 27, the Fair Campaign Finance Act in 2004, which prohibited corporate
contributions, are unwilling to support Amendment 54. Is it fair to restrict
corporate giving but not give those same restrictions to unions? We think not!

The fact is, we can pinpoint close to $1 billion in no-bid contracts in Colorado. If the
University of Colorado, with it’s $2.4 billion enterprise can competitively bid all its
contracts then so too can all governmental agencies. We believe the actual number
is much higher than $1 billion. And we also believe that in this day and age when
Coloradans are worried about making mortgage payments, the least government
can do is competitively bid state contracts and receive the best price for services
rendered.

Regarding public utilities, they are excluded because of their Certificate of Public
Convenience and Necessity (CPCN). Amendment 54 does not affect them at all!
The bottom line: when government competitively bids contracts taxpayers AND the
business community are the real winners.

Final thoughts:

1. The fundraising calls you are receiving are coming from the labor
organization, SEIU – someone has shared your membership list with the
unions.

2. We believe that donating to a 501(c)3 for the stated purpose of
electioneering is illegal and may put you and your organization in jeopardy of
running afoul with the IRS.

3. We have been battling the lies and distortions from the unions for the last
four months, if you have any questions about Amendment 54, please pick-up
the phone and call me at (303) 403-2529.

Respectfully yours,

Tom Lucero

P.S. Please use the link below to watch a recent CSPAN debate. This debate features
the arguments presented by our union opponents and me – click on the flash player
to the right of the screen to watch the debate.






The Williams Law Office, P.C. Denver, Colorado 303-800-0894
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