Boucher: A Union for Some Comes at a Cost to All
By Andrew Boucher
1:05 a.m. MT Apr 11, 2008
Keep an eye on your mailbox in the weeks leading up to June 10. Believe it or not, June 10 is Election Day in Fort Collins. Somewhere in amongst the bills, junk mail and magazines will be your ballot.
At stake will be the solvency of the city budget and our ability to pay for everything from road improvements to neighborhood programs to community parks. No big deal, really, just the future of our city.
Everything about how we govern ourselves as a city is wrapped up in a single ballot question: whether or not we want to amend our City Charter (essentially our constitution) to allow city employees to form unions. The proposed amendment would give unions the right to collective bargaining and binding arbitration.
Specifically, the charter amendment would allow union leadership to negotiate with the city on “compensation, benefits, hours and other conditions of employment.” It would give an independent arbitrator the power to “make a binding decision on all unresolved bargaining issues through binding arbitration.” The proposed amendment would also prohibit “any change in the compensation, hours, working conditions, benefits, or other terms and conditions of employment” unless agreed to by the union.
In other words, a union negotiator will meet with the city every two years and make their salary, benefits and working conditions demands. The city will make their offer. If the two sides can't agree, an independent arbitrator will make a final decision. Hiring and firing of personnel will be subject to a rigorous review process. In hard economic times, the city's hands will be tied. Wage freezes will become nearly impossible. Cutting staff will become more trouble than it's worth.
How does this affect you? Well, pick your favorite municipal government program: How about the pothole repair truck? Or the Neighborhood Night Out? How about the new Bike Library? The Northside Aztlan Center? Inspiration Playground? Every program that's funded through the general fund would face potential cuts. The reason is simple: If an independent arbitrator gets to determine how much of the budget pie goes to salaries and benefits, there will be less left over for other expenditures. (And let's not ignore the “working conditions” clause. Imagine the cost increase if the unions were to mandate the number of city workers required to be on a specific job site. How about the cost of expanded break periods and shorter work hours?)
Or, what if you'd just as soon see the city hold the line on (or reduce) taxes and fees? (Like me.)
Unionizing the city workforce would create higher employee costs. Higher employee costs mean less money for everything else.
Is this what we want for Fort Collins? Right now, our elected City Council controls the general fund budget. They determine if we can afford raises and enhanced benefits for our city employees. They're charged with making an informed decision that's in the best interest of all of the citizens of Fort Collins, and every two years the voters have the opportunity to hold them accountable.
On June 10, the voters of Fort Collins will be asked whether we want to amend our charter to take those budgeting decisions out of the hand of our City Council and hand them to union negotiators and unelected arbitrators. Let's not make that mistake.
One final note: The unions hired signature gatherers to make sure they could get this onto the ballot in June—at a significant cost to the city. Why June and not November? Well, they're hoping turnout will be low. They tried the same tactic two years ago when they gathered the signatures to hold a September election, just two months before the November general election. (Turnout in September of 2006 was less than half of turnout in November of 2006). They're hoping that you'll be too busy to return your ballot with a “No” vote.
This will be an all-mail ballot election. Pay attention to your mail.
