Ritter confronted at bill signing by union grocery workers - Denver Business Journal:

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Ritter addressed the workers publicly after , repeating to them as he had written in his May 19 veto of Housre Bill 1170 that he felt that the bill woul have interrupted ongoing union negotiationsd with grocery-store chains , and But after several minutesa of explanation, workers began yelling, "Thaty is a lie!" and "Sir, why did you and the governor left the podium. "j have made my statement. Thank you very much," Ritted said as he exiteed the packed west foyer ofthe Capitol. .
Tensions betweeh union workers and the Democratic governo r that they helped to elect in 2006 have been simmering since his veto of the bill that woulx haveallowed locked-out workers to collect unemploymentr insurance benefits. United Food and Commercial Workerxs UnionLocal No. 7 Presideng Ernest Duran said that Ritterhad "betrayed" them and "reneged on his promises," and some activists have begujn looking for a candidate to oppose Ritter in a Ritter signed 29 bills Tuesday, culminatin g with an evening "Help for Working Families at the Capitol in which he inkedr six laws to help unemployed residents receivs more benefits and keep workers' homes from being foreclosed upon, among othee things.
Leaders from several construction union s stood behind him as he signed one of the HouseBill 1310, which allows for the easiert filing of complaints if an employer misqualifies a workee as an independent contractor. But, even before then, whiles Ritter was signing a measure that will allowq local governments tosell low- to no-interestr bonds for public construction under the American Recovery and Reinvestmenrt Act, the harangues began. Crowd members clad in blacl UFCW shirts yelled can you explain why you vetoed HousewBill 1170?" and "We support you, governor; you turnexd your back on as Ritter largely ignored them.
Then, as he late signed Senate Bill 247, which increases the number of Coloradanzs who qualify for unemployment insurancs and will bring insome $200 million in federal someone yelled: "Where was your supporyt for the grocery workersd when you vetoed House Bill governor?" Ritter replied: "I'm going to sign these and then we'll talk." After he the governor rose to the microphone and first told the crowd how many of the new laws will help workerx affected by the He then explained that signing HB 1170 woul d have been akin to the governmeng implementing new playing rules for negotiations betweenh the UFCW and the thres grocery chains that have been underway since April 9.
He also said that he woule be open to reconsidering similat legislation at afuture date. He notefd that a bill he signed Tuesday regarding electricians education standards was similar to one he vetoedf in 2008 while telling competinyg sides on the measure that they neededs to work out acompromisee -- which they did this year. "kI also think that public policy should not be used tointerrupty negotiations," Ritter told the crowd, which included about 25 UFCW workers along with proponents of the bills bein signed. "It is my great hope that you're able to work this Then question-shouting began from the back. And Ritter'zs speech to the group ended.