Labor’s fighting back

Seems Colorado wants to change to a “right to work” state. They have been trying for at least a decade. Funny phrasing. I always thought I had a right to work. You know… pursuit of happyness, freedom and all. What does it mean for me if I have no right to work? Would I need to have permission to say, clean my toilet? Or feed myself? Or help you shovel the snow from your steps? So, I guess some in labor have finally woken up to the mind game of such laws which manifests as lower wages.

Labor now has a couple of measures of their own:
Initiative 62: Just cause for employee discharge.
The definitions of just cause:

a. Incompetence;
b. Substandard performance of assigned job duties;
c. Neglect of assigned job duties;
d. Repeated violations of the employer’s written policies and procedures relating to jobperformance;
e. Gross insubordination that affects job performance;
f. Willful misconduct that affects job performance; or
g. Conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude.
h. filling of bankruptcy by the employer or;
i. simultaneous discharge or suspension of ten percent or more of the employer’s work force in Colorado

I know, start firing away about the need to not tie the bosses hands so tight, free markets in labor…etc, etc, etc. Personally, I see this as a step toward moving labor from an identity of “commodity”. Besides, the labor department has been against labor for about 8 years now.

Ah, but this one is the one that I find interesting especially as we have discussed the need for holding the top of the companies responsible, initiative #74:

(1) A business entity is guilty of an offense if:
(a) The conduct constituting the offense consists of an omission to discharge a specific duty of affirmative performance imposed on the business entity by law; or
(b) The conduct constituting the offense is engaged in, authorized, solicited, requested, commanded, or knowingly tolerated by the governing body or individual authorized to manage the affairs of the business entity or by a executive official acting within the scope of his or her employment or in behalf of the business entity.
(1.5) AN EXECUTIVE OFFICIAL IS GUILTY OF AN OFFENSE IF THE CONDUCT CONSTITUTING THE OFFENSE CONSISTS OF AN OMISSION TO DISCHARGE A SPECIFIC DUTY OF AFFIRMATIVE PERFORMANCE IMPOSED ON THE BUSINESS ENTITY BY LAW AND THE EXECUTIVE OFFICIAL KNEW OR REASONABLY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN OF THE SPECIFIC DUTY TO BE PERFORMED.

They do provide a defense for those charged. They just have to have reported the offense prior to being charged. They have to blow the whistle first! Just imagine what it would take to keep an entire board and the officers mum now that the individual won’t be protected unless they blow that whistle. How much would you gamble that just one (it only takes one) would not tell?

There is an even tougher version of this initiative # 57:
This one goes a step further and allows a Colorado citizen to file suit against the company or it’s executive officials. Any awards after expenses goes to the government agency THAT IMPOSED BY LAW THE SPECIFIC DUTY TO BE PERFORMED BY THE BUSINESS ENTITY. It’s a means to prevent frivolous actions.

So, if this passes they will have required by law that every executive official has a duty to be the whistle blower and they will have enabled every citizen to be the cop.

Nothing like competition in the market place…is there? Think some in Colorado are learning from the right’s play book on how to get voters to the polls?