Democrats pushed through legislation to allow some 28,000 state employees to unionize and bargain collectively, with the House approving Senate amendments Wednesday.
The bill needs only Gov. Jared Polis' signature to become law. Polis has expressed support.
House Bill 1153, called the Colorado Partnership For Quality Jobs And Services Act, will allow state workers to negotiate wages, benefits and workplace safety.
The state Senate passed the bill on a party-line vote Tuesday, just as the House did, initially, on Feb. 18.
“This is a long fought win that will be life-changing for state employees, but our right to collectively bargain will benefit all Coloradans because we will finally have a way to address issues we see on the front lines of delivering public services,” Skip Miller, president of Colorado WINS, the state employees union, said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. “We will be able to have a voice in decisions that affect our everyday work, which benefits more than 5.7 million Coloradans. Especially now, it’s important to recognize that unions help level the playing field for workers and lift up our communities by fighting for higher wages, safer working conditions, and ensuring that no one, whether they are black, brown, or white, gets left behind.”
Then-Gov. Bill Ritter created Colorado WINS (Workers for Innovative and New Solutions) by a controversial executive order in 2007.
WINS, however, can't negotiate binding collective contracts without the new law.
The union said the bill would allow state employees to take up persistent issues, including high turnover, inadequate staffing, forced overtime and low morale, characterizing it ultimately as a cost-saver.
“State employees have always put the interests of their communities and Coloradans at the forefront of their work. With this bill, they will have a chance to have productive discussions with policy makers about how we recover from the pandemic, both in terms of health and safety and economically,” stated Hilary Glasgow, Colorado WINS' executive director.
“Frontline state employees are experts at their jobs -- they work directly with and for Coloradans by taking care of our most vulnerable populations, keeping our roads safe and maintained, ensuring our air and water are clean, administering unemployment and other benefits, and so much more. State workers provide the human infrastructure that keeps our state running, in good times and in bad. Their knowledge, experience, and dedication to our state should be front and center in any discussions about how to change or improve state services. With this bill, it will.”
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Bill to allow Colorado state employees to unionize is headed to Polis - coloradopolitics.com
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