Clearly frustrated by Gov. Bill Ritter's veto of a pro-union bill, the AFL-CIO is now resorting to blackmail.

I don't know what else you could possibly call it.

Unless Ritter reverses course and signs a re-introduced bill making it easier to form unions, the labor bosses will try to get the Democratic National Committee to yank its 2008 presidential convention from Denver.

Don't take my word for it. Listen to them.

"We intend to pass legislation again and secure a clear commitment from the Governor to sign it," the group's executive committee confidently states in a tersely worded communique.

A few paragraphs later: "Unless we can be assured the Governor will support our values and priorities, we will strongly urge the Democratic Party to relocate the convention."

How is that not pure and simple extortion? And how does it not do inconceivable damage to the cause of labor in Colorado? What is Ritter supposed to do now - cave in to blackmail?

This statement and these tactics conjure up every imaginable negative 1950s image of union thuggery - at a time when union workers can least afford it. It does far more damage than good. The AFL-CIO is starting to look more and more like The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight.

First, let's parse the statement, "We intend to pass legislation again . . ." Could the national AFL-CIO have tried to make it any clearer that the Democratic-controlled Colorado legislature is in its hip pocket? The last time I checked, the AFL-CIO doesn't pass legislation in Colorado; our elected lawmakers do. Yet there it is: "We intend to pass . . . "

Who does public relations for these guys, Homer Simpson? Are they forgetting about the public relations problems the Colorado AFL-CIO already has? Last month the national AFL-CIO had to bring in two out-of-state union execs to take control of the daily operations of its Colorado office, which was losing members at an unacceptable rate. This latest threat really ought to stop the bleeding, wouldn't you say?

In all seriousness, Ritter vetoed H.B. 1072 exactly one month ago, saying he agreed with its substance but deplored the tactics used by its proponents. The bill would have removed a second, secret ballot from the union certification process, making it much easier to form an all-union workplace.

"A substantive change like this . . . should have been more of a dialogue among the communities of interest, and that didn't happen," Ritter said in this veto statement. "The message is this: We're going to do this differently."

Ritter had indicated during his gubernatorial campaign last year that he would support such an amendment to the Colorado Labor Peace Act. But pro-labor forces blew it by flexing their new-found muscle in a divisive, partisan manner that ultimately rubbed even Ritter the wrong way. "It was overheated politics at its worst," he said. "I strongly believe that the way we do the people's business is as important as what we do."

Then along comes the AFL-CIO's executive committee this week, ignoring that message even as it pokes a finger into Ritter's face and tells him, "Do what we say - or else!"

And you know what? This is only the beginning. During the summer of 2004, as Boston prepared to host the Dems' last convention, police officers there picketed the FleetCenter over contract problems. Construction workers and delivery trucks refused to cross the picket lines until the beleaguered mayor was forced to satisfy their demands. Unions here, like those pesky stagehands, are making the same sort of noises.

And that only covers the bombthrowers from the left. Some business leaders I spoke to this week are scared to death of the following scenario: Next year, as the business community is raising gazillions to fund the Dems' convention, right-wingers like Jon Caldara, John Andrews, Dennis Polhill and Doug Bruce file slews of loony ballot initiatives that there is no money to fight.

As a newsman, I can't wait until 2008.

Business editor Rob Reuteman can be reached at 303-954-5177 or reutemanr@RockyMountainNews.com.