2008 Colorado Amendment 47
Amendment 47 was a proposed initiative on the Colorado ballot for 2008. It was defeated.
The initiative was proposed jointly by Ryan Frazier of Aurora and Julian Jay Cole of Golden. According to the Blue Book, the state-provided ballot guide, Amendment 47 "proposes amending the Colorado Constitution to: prohibit requiring an employee to join and pay any dues or fees to a labor union as a condition of employment; and create a misdemeanor penalty for violation of this law."
If ratified, Amendment 47 would have added a new section to the Colorado Constitution, which would state, in part:
Fact-checking
Pro-Amendment 47 political ads
, the NBC affiliate in Denver, Colorado, analyzed one of the political ads supporting Amendment 47. Among their conclusions were that the particular ad was misleading when it stated, "All it does, it gives workers the right to choose for themselves whether or not they want to join a union." KUSA's analysis states:They also noted that agencies promoting passage of the amendment have received contributions from two organizations in Virginia, the Free Enterprise Alliance in Arlington the National [Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation|National Right to Work Committee] in Springfield.