Pueblo will unite against these threats to blue collar jobs

In Pueblo, we take pride in our blue-collar heritage. And when blue-collar jobs are under attack, we show our strength to tackle these challenges head-on as a community.

I ran for mayor to unite our city and find common-sense solutions to significant challenges, including crime, affordable housing, and the rising cost of living. And always at the top of the agenda for city government — and for Pueblo’s working families — is protecting the manufacturing jobs that are the backbone of our economy.

The pressure on companies that have sustained families for generations comes not only from global competitors. Well-meaning but deeply uninformed legislative proposals, often drafted by some of America’s most extreme environmental groups, are every bit as threatening to the future of our city, and Southern Colorado, as companies on the other side of the globe.

One example is Senate Bill 166, which creates an unscientific, unaffordable, and unsustainable system of air quality enforcement. It would impose mandatory minimum penalties, even for the most minor, meaningless violations with fines that would cost millions of dollars.

Companies cannot do business with a massive, unpredictable financial threat for inconsequential violations hanging over their heads. It is not at all clear how the state could financially afford or physically manage such a massive new system that offers so little environmental benefit.

Many companies in our area report that they already run at 95% emissions efficiency using the best technology available. The only way to address that remaining 5% is to reduce operations dramatically or shut down altogether. That means layoffs and an economic disaster for families throughout our region.

A second bill, House Bill 1338, sponsored by legislators who do not live in Pueblo, would potentially designate our community as a site for an Environmental Equity and Cumulative Impact Analysis (EECIA). Pueblo takes deep pride in our diversity and takes a back seat to no one in standing up for equity and inclusion. But this bill, by labeling Pueblo as a cumulatively impacted community,” would resurrect old stereotypes that we are a struggling, victimized, and stagnant community.

The reality is precisely the opposite, and we work hard to attract quality companies and good jobs, stressing that Pueblo is a vibrant and welcoming place with a hard-working, quality workforce. It’s a great place to locate a business and create jobs. Workers who move to Southern Colorado will tell you it’s a wonderful community in which to live and raise a family. That’s why the Pueblo City Council, with my strong support, recently passed a resolution opposing any effort to place this negative label on our city.

It’s clear to me that the special interest groups that write these fatally flawed bills are passionate and sincere and that their sole focus is finding ways to increase environmental protections. But there is more to crafting good policy than positive intentions.

The substance, and the science, behind our deep concerns are compelling. Our legislative delegation has shouldered the significant task of sharing with their colleagues, in detail, why progressive concepts that excite those from Denver and Boulder are impractical and counterproductive in blue-collar Southern Colorado. Pueblo has also benefited from the solid support of Colorado’s governors over the years, including Gov. Jared Polis, who frequently visits our city.

The annual flow of sub-standard legislation has united our community. Organized labor, business groups, individual companies, and elected leaders stand shoulder to shoulder, respectfully and candidly asking legislators from across Colorado to understand that they do us no favors by seeking to impose ideologically driven, environmentally suspect poison pills on Pueblo.

The potential negative impacts are far deeper than on industrial companies, their workers and their families. My background, long before I sought public office, is in creating and operating great restaurants in Pueblo. So I, like other small business owners, don’t need to read the news to know when plants reduce shifts, or are forced into layoffs. In our case, we count the empty seats, and we, along with our workers, feel the reduced income.

In blue-collar cities, as goes manufacturing, so goes small business. As goes small business, so goes the local economy, and local tax revenues. This isn’t economic theory, nor is it a political science experiment. This is real life in Southern Colorado. And this is why, as a united community, we are so passionate about our blue-collar economy, our working families and protecting our future.

It is why we are working together, urging legislators this year, and every year, to help us keep Pueblo strong.