More than seven months after it was vetoed by Gov. Jared Polis, a bill that would allow workers to vote only once to form a union – instead of having to conduct a second follow-up vote – will be introduced in the legislature again this year, according to the bill’s sponsors, who joined union members and activists in rallying at the Capitol yesterday.
Colorado is the only state that mandates a two-vote process, making unionization more difficult.
The measure, called the Worker Protection Act, was widely supported by Democrats in the legislature last year and is expected to find itself on Polis’s desk again in some form after the legislative session starts next week.
“The data shows that every state that has higher wages for workers is a free bargaining state,” Rep. Javier Mabrey (D-Denver), one of the bill’s sponsors, told the crowd at the Capitol yesterday. “Let’s be absolutely clear about one thing: We do not need a task force to figure this out, we need a governor who has the courage to stand with workers.”
The act, largely unchanged from the previous year, aims to remove Colorado’s unique stipulation that unionized workers must hold a second election after the initial vote before being able to negotiate dues with their employer. While the first election requires a simple majority to form a union, the second must have at least 75% approval to pass, creating a significant barrier for any workplace trying to organize.
The second vote has been a part of Colorado law since the Labor Peace Act was passed in 1943. Following the passage of the National Labor Relations Act and the implementation of the New Deal, it served as a limit on the growing power of unions by the then-conservative legislature. At the time, more than 30% of workers in the U.S. were a part of a union, compared to just 10% today.
“To say that one election is good, but two elections are somehow better, is just flat-out Orwellian and wrong. That second election does not protect workers — it gives corporate ownership more time to delay, intimidate, and divide,” said Sen. Julie Gonzalez (D-Denver) during the rally. “Colorado’s requirement that workers have to hold a second election before employers will bargain in good faith is not only wrong, it is undemocratic.”
After its previous iteration passed last May by more than 20 votes in the House and 10 in the Senate, Polis vetoed the bill because, he said, it did not offer enough of a compromise between labor and business interests. While he has expressed openness to changing to the Labor Peace Act, he has also indicated that he would not pass a bill on the matter that both sides didn’t agree with.
Mabrey confirmed in an interview following the rally that he has not had any conversations with the governor about the new bill, but wants to “give him another chance to do the right thing.”
The governor’s office did not respond to our request for comment following the rally, but Polis spokesman Eric Maruyama said in an email to Colorado Newsline, “The Governor is frustrated and surprised that the same piece of legislation could come forward, recognizing last year’s outcome and that nothing has changed. He urges labor and business to come together to work on a solution that is right for Colorado.”
Gonzales blasted Polis in an interview following the rally.
“Look, we know that our dear governor, a centi-millionaire, has demonstrated incredible class solidarity with his veto of the Worker Protection Act in 2025, but we also know that the power of working people across this state is unstoppable,” said Gonzalez. “And so I cannot wait to see this bill come back, and I cannot wait to see a governor who will sign this bill into law.”
It appears the bill will see similar support in the legislature when it is introduced later this year, putting the focus squarely on how Polis will approach the legislation during his final session as governor.
“The problems that this bill is trying to address didn’t go away,” said Mabrey during the rally. “Politicians across the country, including Gov. Polis, say they want to make Colorado more affordable. This is a clear way to do that.”
