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Public Employee Collective Bargaining in the news!
The Denver Post
April 12 – The right to strike is the right to be treated as a human
[The right to strike], many in labor feel, is a critical, last-resort tool that workers should not give up.
If strike rights come out of the bill, some in labor will campaign against the policy, said Alex Wolf-Root, an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Boulder and vice president of Communications Workers of America Local 7799.
Amie Baca-Oehlert, president of the state K-12 union, said her side is “not willing” to support a bill that erodes strike rights.
Colorado Sun
April 5 – The right to strike is the right to be treated as a human
American labor history is filled with struggles for fair wages, benefits, and safer working conditions. Beyond these important issues, however, is the basic demand, resonating through centuries of exploitation, that workers have the right to speak with a collective voice and to have their union recognized by their employers.
Union recognition is inextricably tied to human dignity, to the struggle to be seen by one’s employer, and to have a voice in policies and decisions that directly impact the workplace. Without this collective voice, workers are easily divided and left to the whims of those who have power over them.
As with all workers’-rights legislation, we will need to fight to ensure that any proposed bill speaks to the needs of public employees today. It should ban intimidation tactics that are commonly used toward organizers and union leaders, solidify the rights of public workers to strike, and allow our public employees to bargain over any and all issues related to compensation, benefits, and working conditions.
-James Walsh, Political Science Department at the University of Colorado Denver, and member of United Campus Workers Colorado – CWA Local 7799
Daily Camera
March 19 – CU Boulder workers: How to ‘keep the magic’ going
My co-workers and I are a small tight-knit community. They are some of my best friends. But the reason we’re so close is that we work long hours in a dangerous job. I’ve seen some my friends in constant pain from injuries they’ve suffered on the job, and watched them leave a job they love in order to find other work that covers their healthcare costs.
Collective bargaining rights are so important for workers. The right to assemble and the freedom of association are fundamental and forms the basis for collective bargaining. As workers we know the challenges we face intimately.
We are asking for the tools to help us do our job; to let the magic happen.
-Chris Evans, Production Manager at Macky Auditorium and member of United Campus Workers Colorado – CWA Local 7799
Chalkbeat Colorado
February 25 – Colorado’s fight over collective bargaining rights could hinge on education
“I’m hopeful that the legislature, as well as the public, sees and understands the value that our public service workers provide to our communities and understands that we need to have a voice in our working conditions,” CEA President Amie Baca-Oehlert
[E]mployees have ideas that could reduce teacher turnover and improve conditions for students. “We’re not listened to. And they don’t have to engage with us in those conversations.” – Collette Simkins, teacher at The New America School
Colorado Public Radio
February 18 – Polis, Democratic lawmakers and local governments are all squaring off over public bargaining rights
“I really just hope that it gives us a seat at the table, that we feel like our concerns are being addressed, making sure that we are being taken care of, that we feel like we’re respected, and not just treated like warm bodies.” – Sara Jungels, Denver Health Workers United – CWA Local 7799
Denver Post
February 18 – Why a push for new labor rights for all Colorado public employees is likely doomed
“Even if there were a slammed door, we’re not willing to accept that.” – Amie Baca-Oehlert, CEA President
“We have to make that push and we have to try, and if Polis decides he’ll be the person to harm our public good and our public workers, at the end of the day we can’t stop that. But just because we know he might be willing doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.” – Alex Wolf-Root, CWA 7799 Vice President
Daily Camera
February 10 – Democrats rally at Capitol to support public workers labor rights bill opposed by Gov. Polis
“People often think about wages when they think about unions, but the impact collective bargaining and unions have on our communities extends far beyond wages. Many of the issues that loom large on both the local and national stage are directly or indirectly affected by unionization, including: local and state revenue, quality and accessible healthcare, systemic racism, gender discrimination, childcare and stability for families, and even the strength of our democracy.” – Boulder City Councilmembers Nicole Speer (UCWC – CWA 7799) and Lauren Folkerts
Colorado Newsline
February 10 – Democrats rally at Capitol to support public workers labor rights bill opposed by Gov. Polis
"Public employees keep Colorado running. They have been on the front lines of some very difficult, challenging years. They helped us through the pandemic. They risked their lives fighting the Marshall Fire. They keep our communities safe. They do their part, now we need to do ours.” – Current Senate Majority Leader and Senate President Elect Steve Fenberg
“All working people deserve a voice in their workplace, full stop. That includes our public workers. Workers deserve a choice, and workers deserve a voice.” – House Majority Leader Daneya Esgar
Denver City Cast
February 10 – Give teachers a voice — through collective bargaining
“I encountered this real culture of fear, and a lot of toxic positivity from management. And it was really heartbreaking to see all these people who care so much and give so much of themselves into keeping this space, this public space, free and welcoming and doing as much as we can possibly can to bring to people, and to have them be so afraid to say what they felt was true and to feel unsafe and not know how to talk about it because they get shut down. It was really hard to watch, and I was like ‘this shouldn’t have to be this way, there has to be something we can do.’ And the more I learned about public worker rights the more I think that we do need collective bargaining.“ – Liana Kiddy-Gan, Denver Public Library Workers United – CWA Local 7799
“Fundamentally, we are Public Workers for the Public Good. And I really am stressing the ‘we are workers’ part of it, because unions are nothing but the workers.“ – Alex Wolf-Root, United Campus Workers Colorado – CWA Local 7799
Colorado Politics
February 10 – Give teachers a voice — through collective bargaining
“Educators believe that every public school should be a place with exceptional teaching and learning —whether it’s in a small town, the suburbs or a big city. Coloradans want all of our students to thrive and succeed, and public school educators are actually the experts on how to make that happen.
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It’s worth remembering that our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions. So as part of a collective bargaining agreement, educators will be able to advocate for lower class sizes, physical-emotional-mental health support, updated materials and the other resources our students need.
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With a seat at the table and our voices heard, educators will have the ability to advocate for our students and our profession — and all Colorado students will have the schools that they deserve.” – Amie Baca-Oehlert, high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association
The Gazette
February 9 – We owe public employees collective bargaining
“It’s time to put our policy where our mouths are and honor their service to our communities and our state by granting them the basic rights they are asking for.”
“Unions are their workers. No union in the United States can exist unless the workers it represents choose to form one.”
“Our bill would simply give workers the choice to join a union and collectively bargain if a majority votes to do so, instead of continuing to allow government bureaucrats and local politicians to choose for them. I cannot think of a purer form of local control than giving hundreds of thousands of public servants a seat at the table when decisions are being made that directly impact the communities they serve every single day.”
House Majority Leader Daneya Esgar
YouTube documentary
February 1 –The Adjunct Situation
“The claim is that we’re just doing this part time or temporarily, and it’s really not necessary or critical to the mission of the university. And that’s bullshit.” – Boulder Philosophy adjunct and CWA 7799 VP Alex Wolf-Root
“This bill is long overdue, this bill is necessary, and this bill will provide necessary protections for workers in our communities.” – Representative Andrew Boesenecker
Colorado Sun
January 24 – Colorado’s workers should always have a seat at the table
“We’re talking about teachers, firefighters and nurses. These professionals are experts in their field. Don’t they deserve a say in how things are done and what the job is? … we’ve long undervalued public employees and, in broader strokes, essential workers. We call them essential, but we treat them as expendable. By further extending collective bargaining to sectors of these workers, we will be forced to reconcile our actions with our words – and it’s going to cost us, as it should. It’s almost certainly been costing them.” – Trish Zornio, scientist, lecturer and CO Sun Columnist
Daily Camera
January 20 – Will fair wages come to CU Boulder’s rank and file?
“Where it would particularly make a difference is not among senior professors like myself, but among the rank and file who largely fill the university’s classrooms. In my own department, it’s a rarity for a student to take a course with an actual tenure-track faculty member. More likely, they’ll get a graduate student. Even more likely, they’ll get a part-time lecturer who, even with a PhD, gets paid around $4,500 to teach a course.” – Robert Pasnau, College Professor of Distinction in the Department of Philosophy at CU Boulder,
Colorado Sun
January 20 – The Colorado Capitol’s next big labor fight: whether to let local public workers unionize
“Many everyday public heroes who take care of our kids, clear off roads and respond to emergencies, they don’t have collective bargaining rights … (This bill) gives us a huge opportunity to level that playing field and create equity and fairness for working families across the state.” – House Majority Leader Daneya Esgar
Colorado Politics
January 14 – FEEDBACK | Collective bargaining bill would aid weary college staff
“Collective bargaining is essential for Colorado’s higher-education staff so that college students can have healthy, properly paid professors who have the capacity and resources to help their students reach their full potential. Thirty-one states give higher-education employees the right to unionize; research shows that this proves effective not only for college staff members, but for students and our communities as a whole. Unions in other states have advocated for student debt reform, better safety on campus and improved higher education funding.” – Danielle Ryan, New Era Colorado
Jacobin
January 12 – Colorado Public Sector Workers May Be on the Verge of Winning the Right to Unionize
“We became nurses because we want to serve the public. So, when the pandemic started, we were ready to hit the ground running. We knew it’d be dangerous. But they exploited our compassion, telling us we were heroes but that we wouldn’t get raises, we wouldn’t get a bonus, we wouldn’t get PPE.” – Rachel Godby, UCHealth Workers United – CWA Local 7799
“To be clear, nothing that we’re doing is trying to take anything away from anybody else; this is about all of us being treated just as well as each other. We all have important jobs, and we all have a place to serve in our community to make it better. If any of us are gone, the community suffers, so we want to keep our talented, experienced workers happy and in place.” – Jacob Oldefest, Denver Health Workers United – CWA Local 7799
Douglas County News-Press
January 4 – Letter to the editor
Shea Swauger, United Campus Workers Colorado – CWA Local 7799
“Everyone should be able to work safely, be paid a living wage, and have a say in how they’re treated." … When we have what we need to live with dignity, not just get by, everyone benefits. It’s better for people, for families, and even business.”
Denver Post
December 26 – Colorado Democrats eye sweeping new union rights for more than 250,000 public sector workers
“It’s not so much that we’re trying to line our own pockets. Working conditions right now are just really, really difficult. … We want fair market compensation, but we want benefits, a good work-life balance.” – Peter DellaVecchia, paramedic and member of Denver Health Workers United – CWA Local 7799
Sentinel Colorado
December 17 – LETTERS: Legislators should support Public Employee Collective Bargaining bill (opinion)
“Our educators are the backbone of our workforce, but they cannot afford to live … Teachers have always supported our futures; now is the time for us to return the favor”
Colorado Public Radio
December 14 – Thousands of local government employees could get union rights in Colorado
“Collective bargaining is a fundamental right that should be available to all Coloradans regardless of where they work.” – House Majority Leader Daneya Esgar
The Rocky Mountain Collegian
November 1 – Campus Equity Week highlights unionization, fair pay
“The unions have our back when we go to work, and this is one of the ways that we ensure pay equity.” – Representative Andrew Boesenecker
The Rocky Mountain Collegian
October 31 – Cooke: CSU workers should unionize for better pay (Opinion)
“Every worker possesses the power that makes their job function. Unionizing allows you to realize that power and exercise it in ways that equalize the balance between you and your employer.
No meaningful and permanent change will occur until workers unite.”