November 2011

Before Thanksgiving the issue of state worker pay came up at the State Legislature. See the coverage of this debate in a recent article in the Sterling Journal-Advocate.

“When we continue to fall behind prevailing market
wages, it’s going to be hard to attract the talent to the state of
Colorado,” said Ferrandino. “As we get toward higher and higher
retirements, we need to make sure that we have compensation that’s
competitive. It’s something we need to keep on our radar.”

See the article here.

See the Chieftain’s recent coverage of unemployed workers’ frustrations with the weak job market. Last week, Pueblo hosted a job expo featuring seven of the city’s largest employers.

Read the article here.

See the Chieftain’s recent editorial in favor of keeping the Fort Lyon Correctional Facility open. Fort Lyon is scheduled to close on March 1st. At the urging of community leaders and families in the area, the Governor has been exploring options to keep the facility – which is a critical employer of local men and women – open.

Read the complete editorial here.

See the new blog post from the Center for American Progress about the recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll which found that Americans want action on inequality.

More than three-quarters of those polled favor action, while 60% strongly agreed that the country’s current economic structure is out of balance and that we need to reduce the power of banks and corporations.

Patrick Malone of the Pueblo Chieftain reports today that Proposition 103 failed. Despite many school districts moving to four day weeks, huge budget cuts and ballooning classroom sizes, voters weren’t ready to approve a temporary tax increase to fund Colorado schools.

And now more budget cuts are on the horizon for education. Yesterday, Governor Hickenlooper proposed another $150 million in cuts from K-12 and higher education in his 2012-13 budget proposal. Looks like Coloradans have more overcrowding, lower quality and less education in store.

View the entire article here.

See Tim Hoover’s coverage on Governor Hickenlooper’s budget proposal from today. Colorado WINS President Paul Boni is quoted:

“Many state employees are taking on second jobs and losing homes to foreclosure, while some have had to resort to using food banks or forgoing critical medical care,” said Colorado WINS President Paul Boni. “Continuing to cut our paychecks means that state employees will have even less money to spend at local businesses – and that’s bad for our economy. This budget is a step forward, but there’s much more to be done.”

See the LA Times article from today about Prop 103- which would stop the short-sighted and irresponsible cuts to your schools and colleges and help build for a stronger economy.

Today is election day. Don’t forget to drop off your ballot (or to go vote)! If you’re not sure where you can drop off your ballot you can find information at the following sites: JustVoteColorado.org or the Colorado Secretary of State.