June 03, 2009 11:46 PM UTC

Ritter heckled off stage by angry grocery workers

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• by: JeffcoBlue

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

As reported by the Associated Press.

Ignoring catcalls from angry union members, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed a package of bills he said will help struggling families and workers during the recession.

Members of a union representing grocery store workers yelled at the governor, calling him a “liar” and telling him he misled them when he vetoed a bill that would have given unemployment benefits to workers locked out by employers during a labor dispute.

Ritter told the union workers the bills he signed Tuesday will help all workers, including union members…

I don’t dispute that the bills Ritter signed yesterday will indeed help some people, but there is more to the story–and a very good reason these people took time out of their day to tell the Governor what they thought of this particular veto, more fundamental than the “he said she said” between him and the legislature.

When Ritter vetoed HB-1170 earlier this month, among his explanations was the effect the legislation might have on the states Unemployment Insurance fund. According to the Denver Post:

He said the recession is putting a strain on the unemployment fund and he wants to focus on putting people back to work.

“We said in the State of the State address that this has to be about jobs, it has to be about the economy and it has to be about how we protect people who are unemployed,” Ritter said. “This is a different question for me, and we answered it with a veto.”

Here’s the problem. Yesterday Ritter also signed SB-247, which greatly expands the available funds for unemployment compensation. Under this bill, the state will receive an additional $121 million from the federal government to put directly into the UI trust fund. This will raise the worst-case scenario projected balance of approximately $42 million to a relatively healthy $163 million.

It’s fair to say that with the help of SB-247, the unemployment fund is not in any danger (and never was, according to House and Senate testimony), raising serious questions about Ritter’s veto. At the very least, the reason he stated (pressure on the funds) is not valid. Since HB-1170 was amended to not take effect until well after the current negotiations between Colorado grocery stores and workers were complete, Ritter’s other stated reason–keeping the state “out of” an ongoing labor dispute–is also not valid.

Together, HB-1170 and SB-247 form a solid safety net for Colorado’s workers, and complement one another. Ritter can’t satisfactorily explain not signing HB-1170 into law. In fact, once you understand the full facts, it’s clear that he had no good reason to veto HB-1170 except for heartless political calculus with an eye toward next year’s (general) election.

In short, the Governor had a choice between principle and his campaign manager’s triangulation against working people to curry favor with business. And Ritter chose the latter. It was the biggest mistake of his political career.