Colorado Democrats say they want to take a “natural next step” in their pro-union push with a bill to allow all public sector employees in Colorado to join unions and cocllectively bargain over pay, benefits and working conditions.
This follows Democrats working across two legislative sessions in 2019 and 2020 to reach agreement with Gov. Jared Polis on a bill allowing union leaders to engage in collective bargaining on behalf of the roughly 30,000 people who work for Colorado state government.
They succeeded eventually, with Polis announcing his support just before the pandemic set in. He signed the policy into law, and last month he and the state union agreed to ratify a new contract — the first of its kind in Colorado — that included several years of cost-of-living raises and more paid time off, among other new benefits.
The planned 2022 bill would affect all public employees, not just those working for the state.
“If you’re a worker, no matter who your employer is, you should have some basic rights,” said Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg, a Boulder Democrat who plans to sponsor the bill. He noted that public-sector workers aren’t generally afforded the same unionizing and negotiating rights available to private-sector workers.
The bill is still in drafting, but the plan is to introduce it in the state House of Representatives in the next session, which begins Jan. 12. It would be headed in that chamber by House Majority Leader Daneya Esgar, a Pueblo Democrat who...
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