Labor groups, along with allies in the Colorado legislature, gathered outside the Governor’s Mansion on Tuesday to press Gov. Jared Polis to sign a bill that would eliminate a key requirement before unions can negotiate over imposing fees on non-union members.

Meanwhile, business groups urged the governor to veto the legislation, saying it would “upend the balance” that a nearly century-old law had maintained, which they argued had allowed Colorado to prosper.    

Both sides are pressing the governor to side with them, even as labor is working to put a measure on the ballot that would mandate employers to have “just cause” for firing someone. If successful, the proposal would make Colorado only the second state in the country with such a rule. 

The initiative, assuming it makes it to the ballot, will likely set up one of the biggest campaign battles between labor and business in recent years.   

At issue before the governor is Senate Bill 005, which seeks to repeal an 80-year-old requirement to hold an election to establish a “union security” agreement at a an-already unionized workplace. Under that law, once agreed to by the company and the labor group, non-union workers would be required to pay union representation fees. 

Federal law governs union formation. For that election, a labor group must receive a simple majority to unionize. However, under Colorado’s Labor Peace Act, workers must undergo a second election and receive a 75% “yes” vote to establish a union security agreement. Colorado is the only state with such a provision.  

Senate Bill 005 — sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, D-Denver, Sen. Jessie Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge, and Reps. Javier Mabrey, D-Denver, and Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver — passed through both the House and Senate on party-line votes. The governor has indicated he would veto the measure after labor and business failed to reach a compromise.  

“We worked hard with the business community and labor to find an update, a way to modernize the 83-year-old act, and our criteria was that it had enough buy-in to be sustainable, to be lasting,” he said.

Earlier this month, Polis reiterated his position and noted that the efforts to “meet the threshold” he had set for him to approve the legislation fell short.

On Tuesday, Denver Metro Chamber President J.J. Ament said business tried to make more concessions and compromise, while unions refused to budge. Labor representatives, meanwhile, insisted they agreed to the governor’s proposal but charged that business “walked away from a meaningful compromise.” 

At Tuesday’s rally at the Governor’s Mansion, speakers said the governor should “stand on the side of workers.”  

“I know the governor has said a few times in the newspaper that he doesn’t support this bill and he wants to veto it,” Mabrey said. “In doing so, he’s echoing the same talking points that have led to the passage of right-to-work laws in Republican states. How can you say that the status quo is working for working people when working people cannot afford to keep roofs over their heads? Working people know the status quo is broken. The governor still has time to stand on the side of workers and do the right thing. He should sign this bill.”

Sponsors of SB 005 said they intend to reintroduce the bill each year until it passes, adding they hope that whoever becomes governor following the 2026 election would be more supportive. 

Polis has until June 6 to act on the bill or it will automatically become law. 

If Polis doesn’t sign the bill, labor groups said the are planning to bring the “just cause” measure to the 2026 election. According to the Secretary of State’s website, a petition for the measure has been approved for circulation and will need to gather just under 125,000 signatures by October. 

“We’re gonna take the issues of working people in this state directly to the ballot box,” said Stephanie Felix-Sowy, President of SEIU Local 105. “The people are with us, and we know that politicians that want to be on the right side of history will be with us in this fight, as well.”

Loren Furman, President & CEO of the Colorado Chamber of Commerce, called the initiative “highly concerning.”

“If this initiative were to pass, then Colorado would be the only state other than Montana to have a mandate like this in place,” she said. “This would make Colorado an outlier and less competitive compared to other states when we are already struggling to incentivize companies to relocate to Colorado or continue to invest here.”

Meanwhile, a ballot initiative has been introduced by Jon Caldara of the Independence Institute that would officially make Colorado a “right to work” state by prohibiting employers from requiring workers to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment. That measure was approved for circulation last month.