Posts tagged Colorado Chamber of Commerce
Key labor bill clears Colorado legislature, faces governor’s veto for second year in a row
May 6, 2026 // The bill would repeal an 80-year-old unionization rule unique to Colorado that mandates workers hold a second election before their union can operate, following a simple majority vote to unionize in the first place. In the second election, a three-quarters majority of a company’s workers must sign off in order to negotiate labor matters as a union. Under a union security agreement, every employee must contribute union fees regardless if they are a union member.
Democrats will reintroduce bill to do away with second unionization vote
January 11, 2026 // Business leaders argue that the second vote is necessary to preserve the economic liberty of workers opposed to unionization and to stop them from being forced to pay union fees when they don’t want to do so. They also say the law gives Colorado an edge over union states in attracting jobs — one of the few edges it retains as increasing housing costs and regulations now rank the state as having the fourth-highest cost of living and 13th-highest cost of doing business. Labor leaders say the second vote is an already difficult hurdle that is routinely made harder by employers who ramp up intimidation campaigns between votes to get employees to vote “no.” And without the fees generated by union security, unions don’t have the resources to properly represent workers in hard-fought negotiations, leaders say.
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.