February 10, 2025

Dear Governor Polis and Members of the Colorado Legislature,

As former United States Secretaries of Labor, we write to express our strong support for SB25-005, the Worker Protection Act, and urge you to pass this essential legislation and sign it into law. Tens of millions of workers say they want to join a union but don’t know how or fear retaliation for doing so. This bill represents a critical step forward in modernizing Colorado’s labor laws by eliminating the outdated and burdensome second election requirement — a provision that undermines workers’ rights to unionize and negotiate for better working conditions.

Just 2 weeks into the new administration, we are already seeing the fundamental right to organize undermined, including by President Trump’s gutting of the National Labor Relations Board, leaving it without enough members to protect workers from illegal union busting. It is essential always, but especially at this moment, that states step up and stand on the side of workers.

Due to outdated aspects of Colorado labor laws, Colorado workers continue to face unnecessary and unjust barriers to forming strong unions. To merely negotiate over the full range of potential protections available in many other states—including the right to require all workers to pay their fair share for representation—Colorado workers must win not one but two union elections, including a second election with a prohibitively high 75% approval threshold for the union. The second election was implemented in the 1940s along with a wave of anti-union laws across the country that had explicitly racist origins.

The second election requirement does not empower workers or provide meaningful safeguards. Instead, it creates administrative red tape and delays that disproportionately disadvantage workers, suppressing Colorado’s unionization rate, which was only 6.9% in 2023, compared to 10% of all workers nationally.

We call on Colorado to eliminate these anti-union provisions. SB25-005 addresses these inequities by removing the second election requirement, allowing workers and employers to engage in free and fair negotiations without artificial barriers. In states without such restrictive laws, after a single successful election, details such as union dues and representation fees are then negotiated and approved in good faith by both workers and employers—a model of fairness that Colorado should embrace.

Current policies create unnecessary hardships for Coloradans who simply want the opportunity to advocate for themselves and their families. Passing the Worker Protection Act is not only a matter of economic justice but also a declaration of Colorado’s commitment to the dignity of work and the rights of its workforce.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

Julie A. Su

Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor 2023-2025

Martin J. Walsh

U.S. Secretary of Labor 2021-2023

Thomas E. Perez

U.S. Secretary of Labor 2013-2017

Hilda L. Solis

U.S. Secretary of Labor 2009-2013

Robert B. Reich

U.S. Secretary of Labor 1993-1997