Colorado Media Matters

Labor

Post article claiming 2007 labor bill was "genesis" of anti-labor amendment omitted a decade of annual GOP "right-to-work" legislation

The Denver Post reported that “the genesis of Amendment 47,” the “right-to-work” ballot issue, dates to the passage in 2007 of House Bill 1072, and that despite vetoing the pro-labor measure, Gov. Bill Ritter later issued an executive order creating partnerships with state employees that “awaken[ed] the right-to-work movement.” In fact, as the Post and other news outlets previously reported, Republican state legislators in at least 10 of the past 12 years have introduced right-to-work bills that if passed and signed into law would have had the same effect as Amendment 47. Read more

On KOA, Rosen repeated Amendment 47 falsehood

Mike Rosen on his Newsradio 850 KOA program again mischaracterized Amendment 47, stating that it "would protect employees from forced union membership or dues." Federal labor law already bans mandatory full union membership, as Colorado Media Matters has pointed out on numerous occasions when Rosen similarly described the "right-to-work" measure inaccurately -- most recently in his October 3 Rocky Mountain News column. Read more

2008 Election

Rocky, Chieftain spread misinformation in covering McCain’s visit to Pueblo

An article in the Rocky Mountain News about Sen. John McCain's October 3 appearance in Pueblo reported without substantiation that McCain "often appeals to Hispanics because of his more moderate view on immigration," but failed to mention that McCain has altered his views on immigration reform to more closely conform to the views of the GOP base. Similarly, The Pueblo Chieftain's report on the event asserted that "the crowd roared in approval of his position on Iraq over that of Democratic rival Barack Obama," but omitted any description of Obama's position. Read more