Five Secretaries of Labor Champion Worker Protection Act Urge Governor, legislators to expand worker freedom to negotiate for better pay and safety

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DENVER – Today five former U.S. Secretaries of Labor sent a letter to Governor Polis and Colorado legislators urging them to pass the Worker Protection Act (SB25-005) to expand workers’ freedom to negotiate for better pay and workplace safety. The bill passed the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee and is slated for a Senate second reading floor vote on Thursday.

“The Trump administration is waging an all-out war on workers and their right to organize and fight for better wages and working conditions and it’s never been more important that states step up and have the backs of workers and families,” said senior fellow at the Century Foundation and former Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “Governor Polis and lawmakers in Colorado have an opportunity to secure a win for workers by passing the Worker Protection Act and they shouldn’t let that opportunity slip away.”

Workers in Colorado must win two elections to form a strong union, a barrier not faced in any other state. The first election is a simple majority vote for union recognition, in compliance with federal law. Colorado is the only state in the country that requires a second supermajority vote for workers who want to negotiate “union security,” which means all workers benefiting from contract bargaining and ongoing representation pay their share of representation fees. Union security does not require union membership.

Even if Colorado workers win the second election, there is no guarantee they’ll win union security, only that it can be on the agenda for negotiation talks. Holding a second election subjects workers to a second round of bullying and intimidation, making it even more difficult to negotiate for better pay and safer worksites.

“Colorado’s current labor laws are actively hostile to union rights and give an unfair advantage to mega-corporations and billionaire CEOs,” said David Seligman, Towards Justice Executive Director, “At this moment, when the wealthiest man on the planet has hijacked our worker and consumer protection agencies, it’s essential that Colorado Democrats have the backs of working people, not corporations and their lobbyists. Five former secretaries of labor agree. Five. Where does the governor stand?”

The text of the letter can be found on the Colorado Worker Rights United website.

Colorado Worker Rights United is a coalition of labor unions and community groups building worker power through organizing and solidarity in Colorado. CWRU is dedicated to modernizing Colorado’s labor laws to make it easier to organize and empower Colorado workers, 70,000 of whom are currently organizing to form a union at a time when an all-time high of seven out of 10 Americans support labor unions.