Colorado Governor Jared Polis did something almost unheard of for a Democratic elected official: defied union bosses by vetoing legislation that would have expanded their power to force workers to join a union or pay union dues. After all, unions are one of the major sources of financial and “volunteer” support for Democrats. The union bosses' political machine is funded by dues collected from workers—many of whom are forced to pay union dues or lose their jobs.
Of course, the workers have no say in which politicians receive support from the unions. This means that workers who support the Second Amendment, or oppose abortion, or support an America First foreign policy are forced to subsidize the campaigns of pro-gun control, pro-legalized (and government subsidized) abortion, and pro-spending money on foreign conflicts in Ukraine and other countries. Fortunately, workers in the majority of states can avoid being forced to support union bosses' political machines thanks to state Right to Work laws. These laws give workers a choice of whether to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of employment.
Colorado is not one of the 26 Right to Work states. However, Colorado’s Labor Peace Act requires that once a union wins a representation election by obtaining the support of a majority of a company’s employees—the union must then obtain 75% of the employees' support in a second election before it can require workers to join or pay union dues as a condition of employment. Obviously, repealing the second election requirement would benefit union bosses and the (mostly Democrat) politicians that receive support from the unions' forced dues-fueled political machine.
This did not stop Governor Polis from vetoing a bill repealing the second election requirement. Governor Polis vetoed the bill because the Labor Peace Act “balances” the power unions derive from union membership and the right of individual workers to have a say in whether they should pay union dues. Governor Polis stated that he believes compulsory unionism requires a “high threshold” of “worker participation and approval.” However, he also said the 75% threshold might be too high as it creates an incentive for unions to target smaller companies where it is easier to obtain the support of 75% of the workforce. Therefore, he is willing to work with the unions and the business community on a compromise that maintains a “high” threshold without making unions reluctant to try to unionize larger companies.
The second vote “high threshold” for compulsory unionism is an improvement over federal law—which makes compulsory unionism the de facto rule except in Right to Work states. However, it is not an adequate substitute for a Right to Work law. For one thing, Colorado workers could still be forced to pay union dues even if few, or even none, of the employers who voted for compulsory unionism are still employed by the business. More importantly, the fact that even a supermajority of workers might favor making every one of their coworkers pay union dues does not legitimize compulsory unionism.
This is why Colorado should amend its Labor Peace Act to protect all Colorado workers from having to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of employment. Still, Governor Polis deserves credit for standing up to the labor bosses who play such a prominent role in his party. This is not the only case of Governor Polis challenging Democratic Party orthodoxy. For example, he is a champion of tax cuts and even supports zeroing out Colorado’s income tax. The founder of two charter schools, Governor Polis is an outspoken proponent of school choice, which puts him at odds with the powerful teachers' unions. He also been attacked by some for opposing legislation imposing new regulations on businesses. He has said the secret to the Democrats' success in Colorado is his prosperity and abundance agenda. This is not to suggest he is the Democrat version of Rand Paul or Thomas Massie. Governor Polis lists universal “free” preschool and kindergarten and increased “investments” in public transit as part of his abundance agenda. While he brags about supporting personal freedom, he also supports gun control and signed a bill forbidding grocery stores from selling distilled spirits. Still, Governor Polis is a Democrat libertarians and free market conservatives can work with to advance liberty and prosperity.
