Gov. Bill Ritter on Friday dismissed threats to move the Democratic National Convention out of Denver by labor leaders pressuring him to reverse his veto of a pro-union bill.

"I don't have any reason to believe it's going to move," Ritter said of the convention scheduled for Denver in August 2008.

Union leaders meeting in Las Vegas this week decided to take on the governor for vetoing House Bill 1072, called the Labor Peace Act, and use the convention as leverage.

But Ritter showed no inclination to bow to the AFL-CIO's threats and revive the fight over House Bill 1072. The measure, which would have made it easier to organize a union, set off howls of protest from business leaders as it made its way toward the governor's desk.

"The veto message was a pretty clear message," Ritter said. "Not many people in Colorado are talking about 1072."

Ritter vowed to extend a warm welcome to union leaders if the national AFL-CIO executive council sends a delegation to Denver to meet with him. But, he said the dialogue didn't get off to a great start. Ritter learned that the national union leaders were threatening to withdraw support for the Denver convention after getting questions from news reporters, not from union leaders themselves.

"That's not the way to initiate it," Ritter said.

Nonetheless, he said he's eager to meet with the leaders and discuss their goal of improving the lot of workers in Colorado.

Leaders in the Colorado legislature also guaranteed that House Bill 1072 won't come back to life this year. House Speaker Andrew Romanoff said he will not back any attempts to reintroduce the bill this session.

"We're looking forward," Romanoff said. "I don't think any threats are going to distract us from the work at hand."

Ironically, Romanoff held the inaugural meeting Friday of a council to forge common ground between Colorado union and business leaders. Romanoff said he's determined to make progress on key issues that affect both workers and employers, such as health care and economic growth.

"I'm 100 percent sure that the convention will be in Denver," Romanoff said.

Following the direction of their leaders, House members put the nail in HB 1072's coffin Friday. The vetoed bill had returned to the House, where leaders refused to attempt an override of Ritter's veto.

On the national level, the sniping continued.

John Sweeney, head of the national AFL-CIO, released a terse statement Friday attacking Ritter. "We think elected officials should live up to the commitments they've given to the people who elected them. That's what this is about," he said.

Keith Maddox, a national AFL-CIO official, said union leaders want to meet with Ritter to resolve the issue before they pressure the Democratic Party to hold its convention elsewhere. But, he said the convention gives the unions "leverage."

He said hundreds of union volunteers campaigned for Ritter.

"They feel he let them down," Maddox said. "They want answers."

Political analyst Eric Sondermann doubted that the unions' strong-arm tactics would work.

"If you're going to play high- stakes poker, you really only want to do it if you're holding the strong cards. I'm not convinced that labor really is holding strong cards at this point," Sondermann said.

Sondermann noted that the Democratic National Committee doesn't have other good options for the convention. And, party leaders have made it clear that winning the Rocky Mountain West is part of their strategy to win the White House in 2008.

"If labor is really trying to seek rapprochement with Bill Ritter, this is not the way to do it," Sondermann said.

What's next

• Talks: The AFL-CIO Executive Council will send a delegation to meet with Gov. Bill Ritter. That delegation could include John Sweeney, national head of the AFL-CIO. Ritter has pledged to meet with the labor leaders.

• Bill staying dead: House leaders killed House Bill 1072, the union-organizing legislation union leaders want passed, on Friday, scuttling any attempts to override Ritter's veto. House leaders vowed not to reintroduce the bill this session.

• Business meetings: The earliest the bill could re-emerge is next year. In the meantime, House Speaker Andrew Romanoff has convened a council of labor and business leaders. They will meet at least once a month through August to map common ground.

Rocky Mountain News staff writers Joanne Kelley and Alan Gathright contributed to this story.

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