Colorado gets singled out for a lot of onlys: the only state in which every inch of ground is at least 1,000 feet above sea level, the only state to have turned down hosting the Winter Olympics, the only state to have 58 fourteeners. And the only state to require two consecutive elections for meaningful union representation. That’s right, two. Right now, workers in Colorado have the right to organize if they vote in an open and fair election and receive a majority of votes in favor of union representation. But that right only goes so far. They may have won the vote, but after the election, workers are barred from even negotiating for something called union security. Union security is like expense reimbursement for contract negotiations. After that first vote, the workers are essentially allowed to have a volunteer union. They are actually constrained from what they can negotiate for with their own union members until they’ve had a second election. And that election requires 75% of the workers to vote in favor of it. Once the supermajority votes in favor, then the union can discuss fees for union membership — not impose fees, just discuss them. Now, this is (supposedly) better than those states that outlaw union fee collection altogether (so-called “right-to-work” states or “right-to-work-for-less” states, depending on whose messaging you’re using). But workers in the trenches will tell you it essentially does the same thing. “It gives corporations who are bad actors a second bite at the ‘not at my company’ anti-union apple,” said Liza Nielsen, a former Starbucks worker who experienced surveillance, harassment, and retaliation for her union activity. “Requiring a second election to even begin to discuss expense reimbursement for unions makes unionizing that much more of a long shot.”And that strategy is working.According to the Federal Reserve, states that bar union fee collection have union membership rates of around 6%. While states that allow negotiation for union fee collection have union membership rates of twice that, or around 13%.According to The Economic Policy Institute, the phrase “right to work” itself is intended to deceive and confuse: “The misleadingly named policy is designed to make it more difficult for workers to form and sustain unions and negotiate collectively for better wages, benefits, and working conditions.”Which may explain why Colorado’s rate of union membership, with the bizarre two-election system, was 7.7% in 2024. Below the national average of 9.9, and far below the 13% average of non-right-to-work states. In his state of the state address, Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) said he opposed efforts to make Colorado a “right-to-work” state. On Facebook, he says he’s pro-union.