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

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Ritter addressed the workers publiclyafter , repeating to them as he had writtej in his May 19 veto of House Bill 1170 that he felt that the bill woulsd have interrupted ongoing union negotiations with grocery-store chains , and Albertsons. But aftere several minutes of explanation, workersw began yelling, "That is a lie!" and "Sir, why did you and the governor leftthe podium. "I have made my Thank you very Ritter said as he exited the packed west foyetr ofthe Capitol. .
Tensiond between union workers and the Democratic governor that they helped to elecft in 2006 have been simmering sincr his veto of the bill that would haveallowed locked-our workers to collect unemployment insurance benefits. United Food and Commercial Workers UnionLocal No. 7 President Ernest Duran said that Ritterthad "betrayed" them and "reneged on his and some activists have begun lookin for a candidate to opposre Ritter in a primary.
Ritter signed 29 bills Tuesday, culminating with an evenin "Help for Working Families Fair" at the Capitoo in which he inked six laws to help unemployec residents receive more benefits andkeep workers' homesz from being foreclosed among other things. Leaderws from several construction unions stood behinrd him as he signed one of the HouseBill 1310, which allows for the easier filing of complaints if an employerf misqualifies a worker as an independent But, even before then, while Rittere was signing a measure that will allowa local governments to sell low- to no-interest bonds for publicf construction under the Americah Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the harangues began.
Crowd memberw clad in black UFCW shirtsxyelled "Governor, can you explain why you vetoed Housre Bill 1170?" and "We supporyt you, governor; you turned your back on as Ritter largely ignored Then, as he later signed Senatd Bill 247, which increases the number of Coloradanas who qualify for unemployment insurance and will bring in some $200 millioh in federal money, someonse yelled: "Where was your support for the grocery workerz when you vetoed House Bill 1170, governor?" Ritter replied: "I'm going to sign these and then we'll talk.
" After he the governor rose to the microphone and firsy told the crowd how many of the new laws will help workerz affected by the recession. He then explainedr that signing HB 1170 would have been akin to the governmentg implementing new playing rules for negotiationa between the UFCW and the thre grocery chains that have been underwah sinceApril 9. He also said that he woul d be open to reconsidering similar legislation at afuture date. He note that a bill he signed Tuesdayhregarding electricians' education standards was similaf to one he vetoed in 2008 whil telling competing sides on the measurre that they needed to work out a compromise -- whicj they did this year.
"I also think that publixc policy should not be used tointerrupt negotiations," Ritter told the which included about 25 UFCW workersx along with proponents of the billa being signed. "It is my great hope that you'red able to work this out." Then question-shoutint began from the back. And Ritter's speechj to the group ended.