As executive director of Colorado WINS, the union representing more than 24,000 state employees, I’ve seen firsthand how passionate and hard working Colorado employees are. Despite the many challenges they face, they love their jobs and they’re proud to go to work every day to serve their communities and keep Coloradans healthy and safe.

During the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers and Gov. Jared Polis made one of the single largest investments in state workers, and the public services they provide, in history. The 2023-2024 state budget addresses decades of under-investment in critical state agencies as well as the workers who keep them running. They also help us build a stronger foundation in our state to improve our collective health, safety and quality of life.

This budget fully funded Colorado WINS’ new Partnership Agreement with the State of Colorado, which includes a variety of provisions to boost the state’s ability to attract and retain vital state employees, from nurses, to teachers, to corrections officers. That includes a 5% across-the-board wage increase, as well as a short-staffing differential for critically understaffed positions in the Department of Corrections and the Department of Human Services.

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Low wages and a serious lack of funding to recruit and retain employees has resulted in staffing shortages across state departments that are essential for keeping Colorado running. For too long this has impacted Colorado’s quality of life. For example, according to figures provided to Colorado WINS in December via an open records request, the Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs had a vacancy rate of 63%. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment had a 21% vacancy rate and continues to grapple with a backlog of unemployment claims, threatening the livelihoods of Colorado families and their ability to stay afloat during hard times. These figures only scratch the surface – numerous agencies that provide key services to Colorado families, particularly during times of need, are operating at a fraction of their capacity.

Thanks to new provisions in our partnership agreement, many of the state agencies that provide support for some of the most at-risk populations in our state will have the resources to take on critical issues such as the growing population of unhoused Coloradans, our persistent mental health crisis, our crumbling infrastructure, and so much more. With this year’s budget, we’re putting our tax dollars to work by investing in the state workers who form the foundation of our state. As a result, all Coloradans will benefit from public employees’ improved ability to plow our roads, provide quality health care and education, ensure clean air and water, maintain our beautiful state parks, offer job services, and keep our communities safe.

The COVID pandemic taught us an important lesson: when we fail to invest in public agencies and force them to function at only a fraction of their normal capacity, critical supports, services and important resources may not be accessible or available at all when we hit bumps in the road. We applaud our elected officials for standing up for public services and investing in Colorado’s quality of life. To protect state agencies from falling into a trap of underfunding again, we must sustainably support our state – yes, through taxes – and ensure our state lawmakers continue to prioritize and invest in our public agencies and the workers that make them run.

When we invest in state workers, we ensure they can keep performing essential duties that protect our communities and keep our state running. Thank you Colorado lawmakers and Gov. Polis for investing in a better tomorrow for everyone in our state.

Hilary Glasgow is executive director of Colorado WINS.