DENVER—Worker rights, and a unique state stumbling block to them, became a key issue when the Colorado legislature convened on January 8.
The battle, pitting the state AFL-CIO and its progressive allies versus the Denver Area Chamber of Commerce and its corporate cronies, revolves around the “Labor Peace Act” that for decades has made the Centennial State a half-out, half-in right to work state.
The law, the only one of its kind in the U.S., says a union can’t represent workers unless it wins two elections: The first where majority of those who vote unionize, and a second where three-fourths must vote that the union can collect union dues and fair share fees.
Has been a roadblock
That second election has been a roadblock to union organizing successes in Colorado, the state federation says. It’s sponsored teach-ins, held rallies on the State Capitol steps and lobbied lawmakers to overturn it. With lawmakers back in Denver, along with Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, it’s trying again.
The majority Democrats in both houses are sympathetic. Polis may be standing in the way. He vetoed two key pro-worker laws at the end of last year’s legislative session. He was the sole prominent Democratic no-show at the latest labor rally for Labor Peace Act repeal, in mid-November.
The corporate class wants to keep the law. It argues—as do its colleagues nationwide—that right-to-work “encourages economic development,” code words for low wages, no security and bad benefits.
The state federation and its allies in the heavily Democratic legislature want to trash the law and replace it with the Worker Protection Act. It would eliminate right-to-work and order “free riders” to pay their fair share of a union’s cost for bargaining on their behalf and defending them against injustice.
Stephanie Felix-Sowy, president of Service Employees Local 105, and leader of a coalition advocating wider worker power, went to bat for the Worker Protection Act in a recent op-ed on the state fed’s website.
“Currently, Colorado law imposes significant barriers for workers seeking to unionize. Corporations often retaliate against employees organizing a union, and Colorado’s requirement of two separate elections makes it even harder for workers to negotiate fair terms,” Felix-Sowy wrote.
“In most states, workers need only one simple majority vote to form a union. This second-election rule creates an additional hurdle, giving employers an opportunity to intimidate workers. It’s hard enough to organize the first worker election because employers–and their union-busting consultants–often bully and retaliate against workers.”
“States with more straightforward labor laws, requiring only one election, show stronger unions and better conditions for working people. Union workers, on average, earn more than 10% more than nonunion workers in comparable roles, and union households enjoy nearly four times the median wealth of nonunion households. These unions set industry standards that benefit all workers, union and non-union alike.
“Studies confirm unions do not cause businesses to fail or leave the state. Unionized companies, including major corporations like General Electric, Southwest Airlines, and Disney, remain highly competitive and successful,” Felix-Sowy said.
“Democrats must be on the side of working people and not on the side of the billionaire class,” State Rep. Javier Mabrey, D-Denver, a co-sponsor, told a recent rally/press conference unveiling the Worker Protection Act.
“In Colorado, the Democratic Party has a trifecta. Whether or not this passes is totally in the hands of the Democratic Party,” he said to more than 100 people, including Teamsters, the AFL-CIO, the Service Employees and the United Food Commercial Workers. “So, I ask my colleagues: Which side are you on, Colorado Democrats? This is our chance to put up or shut up.”
As might be expected, the legislature’s Republicans, outnumbered by a two-to-one ratio in both houses, want to keep the Labor Peace Act and the second election. So do their corporate backers, led by the Colorado and Denver Chambers of Commerce. Said Denver Chamber CEO J.J. Ament: “No private sector membership organization…should be able to take money from your or my paycheck without our express permission.”
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