Earlier this week, Governor Bill Ritter got an earful from grocery workers while signing a bill they saw as a full-frontal attack on them at a time when they're involved in a contract drama with three major chains. Not that all labor organizations were upset with him. On its Employee Free Choice page, the Colorado AFL-CIO praised Ritter for a couple of Tuesday signings. But the worm turned yesterday, after Ritter deep-sixed a firefighters union bill. Workers angered by this action plan to rally at noon today at (wait for it) Denver's Colorado AFL-CIO offices.
The aforementioned vetoes seem intended to prove that Ritter is nonpartisan -- but he's not getting much credit from Republicans. Indeed, the lead item today on the home page of ColoradoSenateNews.com, a Senate Minority Office website at the center of a blog yesterday, concerns the signing of a "GOP transparency plan" -- yet the item studiously avoids even mentioning the guv's name. Although Ritter may have endeared himself to the local movie community by authorizing the new/old Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media, he continues to undermine his base without building much visible support in other quarters.
