DENVER — Hundreds of Colorado workers gathered outside the State Capitol on Wednesday, urging lawmakers to support a measure that would ease the process of forming labor unions.
“It is time to move Colorado into the future,” said Dylan Small, a registered nurse. “It is time working people had a fair seat at the table.”
Colorado is the only state that requires workers interested in forming a union to hold two elections. The first election, which requires a simple majority vote, officially recognizes the union. The second election, which authorizes the union to negotiate a union security agreement clause with the company, requires 75% approval.
Critics of the current law say the second election puts workers at risk for bullying and intimidation by employers. They say the second election is another obstacle that Coloradans who want to unionize shouldn’t have to put up with.
“The standards that we are held to are completely unfair and unique to this state. There's no reason it has to be this way,” said Small.
- Watch our previous coverage of the bill in the video player below
That’s why Small and other workers who gathered outside the State Capitol on Wednesday are calling on lawmakers to pass Senate Bill 25-005, which would update the state’s current labor law, the Labor Peace Act, and eliminate the second election requirement.
“Colorado has very low union density because of this law, and now we want to be more in line with other progressive states,” said Ben Ullrich, another worker who joined the rally in support of the Democratic-sponsored bill at the Capitol.
Ullrich and his coworkers at Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey in Denver voted to unionize last year. He said updating the state’s current labor law is long overdue.
“It would modernize our labor laws and put us more in line with other states that have strong labor unions, and it would provide more worker safety,” said Ullrich.
But not everyone thinks getting rid of the second election is a good idea.
"Senate Bill 5 is a solution in search of a problem,” said Jesse Mallory, regional director of Americans for Prosperity.
Mallory said the current law works fine.
“For 80 years, we've had this law in the book that's benefited both the employers and unions, and suddenly they want to change it,” said Mallory.
Mallory said the second election protects Colorado workers who don't want to be part of a union from potentially being required to pay representation fees.
"To say that I'm gonna pay for political givings that I don't agree with, that may be against my own interests, that's completely unfair,” said Mallory.
SB25-005 passed the Senate and is currently awaiting a hearing in the House Appropriations Committee.
The bill has strong support among Democratic lawmakers. Mallory said he’s interested to see what Colorado Governor Jared Polis will do if the bill reaches his desk.
“He's caught in a really tough place. He desperately wants to appease the union crowd while also appeasing business,” Mallory said. “He's gonna have to take a stand. This is an either-or situation. There is no middle ground.”
Denver7 reached out to Polis’ office to ask for his position on SB25-005.
“Governor Polis is pro-worker and pro-union, and he has been clear that he supports workers' right to vote in a second election before a negotiation over wages being mandatorily deducted from anyone's paycheck can occur,” said Eric Maruyama, a spokesperson for the governor. “That said, he’s willing to consider some changes to the current law.”
Maruyama said in order to earn Polis’ support, any change to the state’s labor law “should be negotiated with labor and the employer community, with a goal of ensuring strong protections for workers and a consistent business environment for employers, with a goal of stability for both sides that is maintained over time.”
Maruyama said the governor wants labor and the business community to continue their discussions to find a compromise and is ready to assist if asked.
Back at the rally, workers urged the governor to support the bill as written.
“I would like to urge Governor Polis to stand with the working people of Colorado and sign this bill,” said Ullrich. “It's been pretty clear from the turnout here today and from what the unions are saying that this is what working people want.”
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