Labor issues draw ink, some of it red

State employees unionized, voters in Fort Collins defeated a measure to give city workers binding arbitration powers, and the United Food and Commercial Workers union retracted two proposed initiatives for the 2008 ballot. Just another week in Colorado.

For those who missed it, there were numerous happenings in the state’s labor community last week, including:

-More than 22,000 state workers in Colorado were unionized into employee partnerships after a vote.

-After a campaign waged by the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce, voters in the Fort defeated a proposal to give city workers binding arbitration powers for the second time in less than two years, with a 71 percent “no” vote.

-The local United Food and Commercial Workers union threw out two of its proposed measures for the 2008 ballot after the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce voted to oppose a “right-to-work” ballot question.