CoorsTek has put up a measure that will be bad for Colorado.
The Golden-based high-tech ceramics maker has brought us Amendment 47, a measure that would dash Colorado's Labor Peace Act.
It's not like the Teamsters or the AFL-CIO has run amuck since the Labor Peace Act was enacted in 1943. Only 8 percent of the Colorado's workers are unionized, and by most measures, we remain a business- friendly state.
Nevertheless, CoorsTek has initiated a destructive political battle over how the few labor unions that we have here in Colorado should be allowed to organize.
CoorsTek's director of government relations Jonathan Coors, 28, put the "right-to-work" campaign together using $200,000 from the privately held company.
Denver business leaders, including Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce president Joe Blake, reportedly tried to get the brewing family scion to drop the campaign. The Chamber is now taking no position on the measure, its membership likely divided...
...It's unclear why CoorsTek cares so much about Colorado's unions. The company has been busy expanding and creating jobs . . . in Asia...
...Another backer of Amendment 47 is also winning the globalization game: American Furniture Warehouse. But don't be fooled by the name. It's practically a regional distribution network for Chinese manufacturers.
Why the working man drinks Molson, Coors or Miller beer is going to be another one of those unfathomable socioeconomic mysteries next to why the shrinking middle class keeps shopping at Wal-Mart.[Pols emphasis]
Jonathan Coors has said his battle has nothing to do with the brewery, though his last name remains a major brand in beer.
His uncle Pete Coors, vice chairman of Molson Coors, has indicated that he does not support the right-to-work amendment. But when he was running for U.S. Senate in 2004, he pledged to support right-to-work.
It's hard to imagine getting this confused from that watery Coors beer.
You won't see Molson Coors CEO Leo Kiely getting behind Amendment 47, though.
He's too busy trying to figure out where to locate the proposed new MillerCoors joint venture . . . other than Colorado.[Pols emphasis]
Coors board members have been skittish about Amendment 47 from the start, concerned that it will hurt the brand's image and convince blue-collar workers to forsake the local beer. And what happens if "Right to Work" prevents MillerCoors from moving their headquarters to Colorado? That's a lot of jobs that we could have had in Colorado.
