(TNS) — The moment that led Matt Haugen to conclude the state public defender’s office needs a labor union came when he was asked, for the third time, to postpone a surgery because he might be needed during a trial.
“I wasn’t having it,” Haugen said.
Now, he’s part of a core group within the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender leading the charge to form a union. The group is launching its membership campaign Thursday as it pushes for better working conditions — including reducing caseloads for attorneys — in public defender’s offices across Colorado.
“I don’t want anybody else to have that sort of pressure where it’s a choice between your personal wellbeing and the wellbeing of the system,” Haugen said.
The union will be called the Colorado Defenders Union and will be affiliated with Communication Workers of America Local 7799.
Most lawyers, paralegals, investigators, social workers and administrative staff in the state’s 21 regional offices will be included, and 750 to 800 employees would be eligible to join, said Kiyomi Bolick, a co-chair of the organizing effort and a lead deputy public defender in Steamboat Springs. Office managers and supervising attorneys will not be included.
There is a catch, however.
Under Colorado law, employees in the state’s judicial system are not authorized to unionize and there’s no legal avenue to force government officials to recognize and bargain with them.
Those behind the effort in the public defender’s office hope their...
Trump had claimed that the US had secured major concessions ahead of potential ceasefire negotiations. New Delhi: On Saturday, 18 April 2026, Iran took several digs at US President Donald Trump reg...