Headlines — June 21, 2022

June 21, 2022

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Two King Soopers Highlands Ranch Employees, Fined For Crossing Picket Line, File Unfair Labor Charge Against Union

Two King Soopers workers have filed an unfair labor charge with the National Labor Relations Board Monday against United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, the union representing the grocer’s employees. 

Attorneys for the two workers say the union unlawfully fined them for crossing the picket line during January’s union strike, saying their clients had resigned from the union before returning to work.

The Colorado Sun reports union officials did not respond to requests for comment. 

National Right To Work Legal Defense Foundation, a nonprofit that fights “compulsory union membership,” is backing the employees. They say the union fined workers $250 per day, plus any money earned for crossing picket lines. 

Jeffrey Zax, a professor of economics and labor expert at the University of Colorado, told the Colorado Sun that dropping out of a union during a strike may not void the contract. That’s an issue the court will decide. 

According to the Colorado Sun, King Soopers has Denver-area stores that are not unionized, enabling a choice for employees to work for a union shop or not. 

Former Boulder County Clerk Who Issued The First Same Sex Marriage License In The 70s Dies

Clela Rorex, the former Boulder County clerk who issued the city’s first same-sex marriage license, died at 78 this month. She served as Boulder County clerk and recorder in the 1970s. Prairie Mountain Media reports that Clela was a pioneer in the gay rights movement as the first public official to issue a same-sex marriage license.

In March 1975, two gay men in Colorado Springs gave Rorex a request for a marriage license. Rorex contacted Assistant District Attorney Bill Wise, requesting clarification about any laws or codes that would prohibit okaying a marriage license. Wise replied that there was no statutory law prohibiting license issuance.

Rorex, then 31, ended up issuing six licenses to gay couples before Colorado’s Attorney General ordered her to stop.

Gay-marriage opponents launched a recall effort. After months of hate mail and chronic migraines, Rorex, a single mother, resigned halfway through her term. 

Colorado legalized gay marriage in 2014 after a state court, and a Denver federal court struck down a 2006 ban enacted by state voters. A 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision recognized the fundamental right nationwide.

A celebration of life is planned for July 23.

CU Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization Faces Scrutiny Amongst John Eastman Scandal

University of Colorado Board of Regents Chair Jack Kroll is defending the controversial Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization by telling Colorado Newsline it is a valuable part of the university community and the commitment to promoting conservative thought.

The Center is under scrutiny for hosting visiting scholar John Eastman, a lawyer to former President Donald Trump, who is facing allegations he helped conspire to overturn the 2020 election results. 

Eastman held his CU post during the 2020-2021 school year. According to CU’s website, the hiring salary for the Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy is $185,000 annually.

According to Colorado Newsline, a third of the Center’s past nine visiting scholars of conservative thought are election deniers. 

Colorado Newsline reports the Center’s first director, E. Christian Kopff, took part in the H. L. Mencken Club, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has described as a white nationalist hate group.

On Sunday, the Denver Post editorial board called for CU officials to close the Center amid the Eastman scandal and the Center’s refusal to condemn Eastman’s actions. 

High-Efficiency Electric Home Grants Available To Residents Who Lost Homes In The Marshall And East Troublesome Fires

Boulder County announced last week that residents who lost homes in the Marshall and East Troublesome Fires would soon be able to apply for a $10,000 grant to rebuild high-efficiency electric homes. 

The grant program will require new construction to meet the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code, the county’s BuildSmart standards, or other higher energy efficiency codes. 

According to the county’s press release, affected residents may also add the grant money to the incentive program offered by Xcel Energy to Marshall Fire victims.

Aurora Needs Citizens To Apply For Its Oil And Gas Regulatory Committee 

The City of Aurora is inviting residents interested in advising the city council on oil and gas issues to apply for an opening on the city’s Oil and Gas Advisory Committee.  

The 11-member committee includes five community members without prior industry experience, three surface property owners, and three oil-and-gas industry representatives. 

Along with a citizen applicant, the city is also seeking an industry representative to apply to the committee.  

Residents may complete an application at AuroraGov.org/Boards. 

Boulder City Council To Consider Adding E-Bike Rebates To Transportation Agenda

E-bikes rebates may be coming to Boulder. The City Council will consider an e-bike rebate pilot program this afternoon. 

The Boulder Daily Camera reports the Transportation Department may incorporate the rebates in its mobility plan. The proposal is similar to the one that Denver launched earlier this year. Denver had to pause their program in May after the city maxed out its budget in less than weeks. 

Colorado legislators passed a measure this session to launch a statewide e-bike program in 2023, allocating $12 million to e-bike rebates for low-income residents. 

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