After a looming Thursday deadline, negotiations between businesses and labor organizations in Colorado finally reached a compromise on ballot initiatives: labor groups have accepted a $3 million pledge from 75 business executives to assist in defeating 3 anti-labor ballot initiatives, in exchange for labor's removal of 4 costly initiatives aimed at businesses. The classically adversarial parties will now unite forces to defeat the remaining anti-union initiatives, with special focus on a proposed right-to-work amendment. Participating groups likely conceded to the compromise out of necessity to state economic interests, but not all businesses have agreed to participate in now helping labor's agenda.
See "Executives Pledge Funds as Unions Drop Colorado Initiatives", Stephanie Simon, The Wall Street Journal, October 2, 2008