Posts tagged business community
Bipartisan Bill to Accelerate Labor Contracts Roils Employers
August 6, 2026 // “The notion that I’m going to bargain a fresh contract and think of all the terms and conditions of employment that get woven into a contract, a contract that on the light side might be 10 or 15 pages single space and on the long side 50 pages, that’s just ridiculous,” he said. “People that have never bargained wrote this law.” The bill could also exacerbate timelines instead of accelerating them, as arbitrators and mediators become increasingly overwhelmed with an influx of contract disputes. That could be especially aggravated by ongoing staffing challenges at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, said Steven M. Bernstein, regional managing partner and Labor Relations Group co-chair at Fisher & Phillips LLC.
COLORADO: As expected, Gov. Polis vetoes bill changing unionization requirements
May 19, 2025 // Lawmakers passed the bill at the end of the legislative session after negotiations between labor leadership and the business community failed. Democrats were hoping Polis would have a change of heart. "I would think as the figurehead of the Democratic party," Rep. Jennifer Bacon, who sponsored the bill, said on the House floor last Monday. "He will do what Democrats ask him to do and what Democrats worked on. I have faith that he will do it. He will sign this bill." That didn't happen. In his veto letter, Polis said he was open to changing the law but thinks there should be a higher threshold when voting for dues deductions.
How the Colorado Labor Peace Act came to be and why unions want so desperately to get rid of it
February 3, 2025 // The Colorado Labor Peace Act requires a 75% vote of approval before a union can even negotiate with an employer over imposing union security. Senate Bill 5 would remove the union security vote requirement altogether. Senate Bill 5 likely has enough Democratic support to pass the state legislature, but Gov. Jared Polis has indicated he won’t sign it into law as is. And the Colorado business community is pushing back on the proposal, too.
OPINION: Restaurants get a preview of regulation under Trump
December 18, 2024 // Under McFerran’s leadership, the board also greatly altered the organizing process. Previously, employees had to request permission from the NLRB for a vote on unionizing. Now a shop is assumed to be unionized if a majority of the workers so much as express a preference for union representation. A vote is held only if the employer seeks it as a way of keeping the union out. And if the NLRB decides the business is trying to nudge workers toward a "No" vote, it can scrap the election and recognize the union with a vote never being held.