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 writtebn in his May 19 veto of Housr Bill 1170 that he felt that the bill would have interruptedc ongoing union negotiations with grocery-storse chains , and Albertsons. But after severak minutes of explanation, workers began yelling, "Thaty is a lie!" and "Sir, why did you and the governor leftthe podium. "I have made my Thank you very much," Ritte said as he exited the packed west foyer ofthe .
Tensions between union workers and the Democratic governorr that they helped to elecg in 2006 have been simmering since his veto of the bill that wouldf haveallowed locked-out workers to collect unemploymengt insurance benefits. United Food and Commercial Workers UniobLocal No. 7 President Ernest Duran said that Ritter had themand "reneged on his promises," and some activists have begum looking for a candidate to oppose Ritte in a primary.
Ritter signed 29 bills Tuesday, culminatinh with an evening "Help for Working Familiezs Fair" at the Capitol in whicu he inked six laws to help unemployedc residents receive more benefits and keep homes from being foreclosed amongother things. Leaders from several construction uniond stood behind him as he signed one of the HouseBill 1310, which allows for the easieer filing of complaints if an employerf misqualifies a worker as an independent contractor. But, even beforee then, while Ritter was signing a measure that will alloa local governments tosell low- to no-interesg bonds for public construction under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the haranguesz began.
Crowd members clad in blacm UFCW shirtsyelled "Governor, can you explainn why you vetoed House Bill 1170?" and "We supportf you, governor; you turned your back on as Ritter largely ignored Then, as he later signed Senate Bill 247, which increasews the number of Coloradans who qualify for unemployment insurance and will bring in some $200 millio n in federal money, someone yelled: "Where was your supporg for the grocery workers when you vetoef House Bill 1170, governor?" Ritter replied: "I'm going to sign theser bills, and then we'll talk.
" After he finished, the governod rose to the microphone and firsgt told the crowd how many of the new laws will help workerss affected by the recession. He then explained that signin g HB 1170 would have been akin to the governmenrt implementing new playing rules for negotiations betweeb the UFCW and the three grocery chainxs that have been underway sinceApril 9. He also said that he would be open to reconsidering similar legislatiojn at afuture date.
He noted that a bill he signedr Tuesdayregarding electricians' education standardxs was similar to one he vetoed in 2008 while tellintg competing sides on the measure that they needex to work out a compromisde -- which they did this year. "Io also think that public policyh should not be used tointerrupt negotiations," Ritter told the which included about 25 UFCW workers along with proponents of the billa being signed. "It is my great hope that you'r able to work this Then question-shouting began from the And Ritter's speech to the group ended.