As a new guy down here at the gold dome, I presume legislators are sent to represent those hard-working families in the state trying to maneuver their way through these tough times. For me, this means sacrificing time from my own business, family and what few personal friends I have left. I am not seeing that same sacrifice from those who are paid handsomely to ostensibly stand up for Colorado’s workers.

In recent weeks, Denver’s United Food & Commercial Workers Local 7 has attempted to take advantage of disruptions caused by the pandemic, growing inflation and labor shortages to further their own political agenda.

Earlier this week, UFCW 7 boss Kim Cordova exploited the current negotiations with King Soopers by announcing a strike in the greater Denver metropolitan area without allowing her membership to even vote on what appears to be an unprecedented offer from King Soopers. According to King Soopers press release of Jan. 6,  that offer includes increasing wages for everyone – with some earning up to $4.50 more per hour this year alone.

While King Soopers attempts to bargain in good faith, Local 7 has sat idle for decades – both refusing to negotiate in good faith and doing nothing to organize prominent non-union companies like Walmart, Target or Amazon. Local 7 has become reliant on employers such as King Soopers to fund their political engines.

Rather than stop the collection of union dues during the pandemic to keep more money in each of their members’ pockets, Local 7 continued collecting dues in order to fund their own salaries – which have risen to alarming levels.

According to the most recent Department of Labor annual report,  Local 7 leadership chose to pay themselves handsomely, with over thirty-five (35) of them earning more than $100,000 per year in 2020. Kim Cordova, Local 7’s president, made more than $200,000 in 2020 alone. Furthermore, since the Department of Labor hasn’t uploaded updated data for 2021, those salaries could now be even higher.

What is even more interesting, referring again to that same annual report, are the additional expenses Local 7 chooses to spend its members’ dues on that do nothing to better represent them. One of those unnecessary expenses is nearly $20,000 for season tickets to the Denver Broncos.

Recent stories over the weekend say that King Soopers and the union have failed to schedule additional bargaining dates despite King Soopers sending Kim Cordova a letter on Jan. 7 saying:

“We request to meet and bargain with you immediately regarding the Union’s Comprehensive Proposal. We are fully available to meet. Please respond in writing with your willingness and availability to meet at your earliest convenience.”

Perhaps Ms. Cordova and other Local 7 leadership were not available to bargain because they were busy attending the Broncos-Chiefs game?

One can only speculate that these perks further serve the personal interests of Kim Cordova and other Local 7 leadership.

Ms. Cordova continues to enjoy her time in the press by pushing her agenda through manipulative tactics that prevent her members from exercising their democratic right to vote on King Soopers’ historic offer.

And although Local 7 refused to extend the current contract while negotiations remained ongoing, they have agreed to an extension with fellow grocer, Safeway – without demanding near the outrageous concessions they are of King Soopers.

It appears to a newbie, like myself, that Kim Cordova is picking sides. It will be interesting to see in the coming days if she makes the same demands of Safeway that she has been of King Soopers. Or perhaps Safeway Local 7 members don’t deserve the same unrealistic demands Kim Cordova continues to make of King Soopers?

Nevertheless, Cordova appears to preserve her annual salary and that of her fellow union bosses by attempting to portray to the media that companies like King Soopers – who are trying to pay their workers more – are the enemy.

Local 7 seems to have zero concerns with putting the wages and benefits earned by their members on hold through strike initiatives and pushing themselves into the media spotlight – all while never losing a dime of their own personal salaries and perks.

Union members should feel victimized by the actions of union leaders when their voices and rights are stripped away by self-absorbed union leaders. I hope others will join me in the real fight for Colorado’s working families, by exposing how they are being exploited. In these troubled times of pandemic and burgeoning  inflation, workers and consumers do not deserve to be pawns in a political game.

Mike Lynch is State House Representative for House District 49, and a member of the House Business and Labor Committee.