The Colorado legislature passed a pro-union bill Friday, setting up a potential veto by Gov. Jared Polis after he rejected an identical measure last year.
House Bill 26-1005, named the Worker Protection Act by supporters, has been a top priority for legislative Democrats and the state’s labor unions for the past two years. Republicans and business groups, including the Colorado Chamber of Commerce, oppose the measure.
This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at kunc.org.
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.
Supporters argue the second election makes it harder to organize and weakens unions’ bargaining power by giving employers additional time to delay negotiations and pressure workers.
“In Colorado, we have a very unique barrier that was designed to prevent people from joining unions,” bill sponsor state Sen. Jessie Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge, said on the Senate floor Thursday.
The bill was approved by lawmakers along party lines. It now heads to Polis’ desk where it likely faces a veto, despite wide support from the governor’s own party.
Polis vetoed the same bill when the legislature passed it last year, and his office indicated he will veto the 2026 version, too.
“This legislation has not significantly changed since being reintroduced, and is identical to what the governor vetoed last year,” spokesperson for the governor, Eric Maruyama, said in a statement. “The governor clearly outlined last year that he needed to see a durable and lasting agreement between labor and business on this legislation and that did not happen. While he’s disappointed there weren’t meaningful conversations between business and labor this year, the governor has been clear that if the same legislation reaches his desk the result will be the same.”
Polis has repeatedly urged lawmakers and union advocates to compromise with business leaders on the policy, but the two sides were never able to come to an agreement.
There is one major difference this year from last year, however. Polis is now in his final year in office. If House Bill 1005 is vetoed, sponsors have said they plan to look ahead to the next governor to support the policy.
The rift between Polis and legislative Democrats over labor policy goes back years. In 2024, he also faced backlash for vetoing several worker-protection measures.
This story was produced by the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, with support from news outlets throughout the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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