Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, a Denver Democrat, speaks about a labor rights bill at the Colorado Capitol. Credit: Colorado Newsline

Workers in Colorado and their employers have enjoyed a relative peace under a deal struck more than 80 years ago that stopped years of violence over salary and working conditions.

As it stands, Colorado Democrats want to unravel that deal. A group of Democratic Colorado lawmakers in late 2024 announced their plans to run a bill this year (2025) to alter the state’s labor laws by removing a secondary election requirement for unions.

The bill, dubbed the Worker Protection Act, would repeal a requirement that workers win a second election — on top of the one to form their union — to require fees from every worker that the union represents. Colorado is the only state to have that requirement, which is part of the state’s 1943 Labor Peace Act.

And as the first scheduled hearing of a bill to rewrite Colorado’s Labor Peace Act draws to a close, a coalition of business groups have also released a poll that it argues shows voters of all stripes are overwhelmingly opposed to the proposed changes.

27 states in the U.S. currently have right to work laws.

The 82-year-old law is unique among states in that it requires two votes for workers to unionize a company and then to allow automatic paycheck deductions to fund union negotiating activities. The first vote to unionize requires a simple majority, but the second vote to allow fee deductions needs 75% support — a provision that unions call an unnecessary barrier and that business leaders say keeps union-opposed workers from having to pay the organizations.

The bill will be heard before the Senate Business, Labor & Technology Committee and, as such, is the first bill that will get a hearing in the Senate this session — would remove the mandatory second election. That would allow labor leaders to begin negotiating with a company upon the first unionization vote to ask for fee deductions to be taken from all paychecks.

The bill is sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Robert Rodriguez (D-Denver) and Sen. Jessie Danielson (D-Littleton) and in the House by Rep. Javier Mabrey (D-Denver) and Rep. Jennifer Bacon (D-Denver).

A poll of 507 voters commissioned by nine business organizations and conducted in early 2025 found that 70% of respondents oppose removing the second vote while just 25% support the action. And that opposition reaches across parties, with Republicans rejecting the idea by a margin of 87% to 9%, Independents opposing it by 72% to 24% and Democrats opposing it by 50% to 43%.

At the same time, 64% of poll respondents said they have a favorable opinion of labor unions, while 28% had an unfavorable opinion and 8% said they were unsure. That, poll backers said, showed that the issue is not about union formation but about the elimination of a crucial safeguard to unions taking mandatory fees from paychecks.

The President/CEO of the Colorado Restaurant Association, one of the organizations that funded the poll strongly reacted to the bill stating who it actually helps. In her opinion, “It helps union executives and not Colorado restaurant workers.”

Employees need to win a simple majority to become represented by a union. But to negotiate “union security,” which requires that every worker benefitting from union negotiations pay into it, workers need to win a second election with up to a 75% vote. That is known as an all-union agreement election. It does not compel union membership.

Of five AUA elections in Colorado in 2024 so far, four were successful, according to state data. Of the 553 unions that initiated a second election in Colorado between July 1977 and July 2024, 68% were successful, according to an analysis from the left-leaning Colorado Fiscal Institute released recently.

CFI is estimating that updating Colorado’s labor law could increase a union worker’s annual income by $2,300.

The current system means a union can win that first election, but employees wouldn’t be compelled to pay the dues or representation fees that fund activities like collective bargaining negotiations, unfair labor practice filings and representation in disciplinary meetings. Advocates say the two-election system is a barrier to financial strength, stability and longevity, and can make it harder for unions to bargain for better pay or safer working conditions.

Colorado laws automatically insert the government into these negotiations say a group of Colorado lawmakers. They are of the opinion that workers don’t need the government to tell them what is right for them in their workplace.

The lawmakers spoke alongside dozens of union members — as well as Attorney General Phil Weiser, Secretary of State Jena Griswold and Treasurer Dave Young, all Democrats — in the state Capitol at a press briefing during the unveiling. Gov. Jared Polis, who vetoed a series of labor protection bills this year to the frustration of progressive Democrats in the Legislature, was not present at the unveiling.

Lawmakers have characterized the bill as one to remove a “procedural speed bump.”

Polis spokesperson Shelby Wieman, however, called the two election system an “avenue to strengthen unions through union security agreements.”

“The Labor Peace Act has been in effect in Colorado since 1943 and maintained a balance between labor and business interests that has made workers and businesses in Colorado prosper. As the Governor who has expanded labor rights and has proudly signed laws that expanded collective bargaining, he is leery of the need for a new bill to open the Labor Peace Act that serves the state and workers so well. Any changes to The Labor Peace Act would need to find common ground with employers and businesses and labor, and the Governor is deeply skeptical of this bill without a heavily negotiated, thoughtful, and comprehensive process,” she wrote in an email.

As expected, the bill has been met with stiff opposition by various business groups across the state.

Business groups have noted since union leaders and legislative Democrats announced in late last year their plan to amend the Labor Peace Act that they have fought not only previous similar efforts but also efforts to turn Colorado into a right-to-work state that bans the requirement that employees be members of a union to work at unionized workplaces. They have said that the unique wording of the law gives Colorado a competitive advantage in recruiting and retaining employers over states that mandate union membership to work at unionized companies. They also argue that the Labor Peace Act strikes the right balance and protects Colorado workers and the economy.

Unions and supporters of the changes say that the second election and its 75% bar has served as a barrier to allowing workers who have supported unionization to move forward on funding the negotiating efforts that will lead to higher pay and greater benefits.

The general consensus is that the current law works great for C-suite billionaires but not for workers who actually get the job done. Coloradans are now ready to empower workers so they can stand up and level the playing field for better pay and safety.