ritter-bill2Back in May, Governor Bill Ritter vetoed a bill that would have given workers the right to receive unemployment benefits if they were in a dispute with their company and their employers locked them out.

Labor unions haven’t forgotten such moves by the Democratic governor over the years, which could very well hurt Ritter’s reelection campaign next year. Consider the efforts of the local chapter of the Colorado International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which has launched a campaign called LIAR—Labor Initiatives Against Ritter.

The group’s motto is, “Don’t piss on my back and tell me it’s raining,” notes Politico. Mike Hamm, president of Colorado IBEW Local 113, adds salt to the wound: “He’s done nothing, nothing at all for organized labor–and we’re the ones that got him elected.”

The rift goes back at least two years, when Ritter killed a bill that would have made it easier for workers to form unions. Last month, just 64 percent of Democrats approved of Ritter’s job performance, and a new poll cited by National Review Online found Ritter in trouble: A majority (56 percent) say it’s time for a new governor, while 33 percent say Ritter deserves reelection; 12 percent are unsure.