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DENVER – Colorado business leaders today responded to proposed changes to the state’s labor laws announced at a press conference held by Colorado Workers Rights United. The changes would remove key sections of the Labor Peace Act, which regulates collective bargaining agreements between employers and their employees in Colorado.
“We were disappointed to only learn yesterday about an upcoming bill that would repeal major provisions of the Labor Peace Act,” said Colorado Chamber President and CEO Loren Furman. “Colorado’s carefully crafted labor laws promote fair policies for workers while allowing for a healthy economic climate for business. In order to preserve this delicate balance, the Colorado Chamber has opposed previous ‘right-to-work’ legislation and has a long history of collaboration on labor issues.”
“Colorado’s workforce enjoys some of the most expansive benefits in the nation – salaries and minimum wage are among the highest, and paid family and sick leave policies are some of the most generous,” Furman continued. “The Colorado Chamber opposes any proposal disrupting the balance we’ve achieved between business and labor. Such a systemic change would be counterintuitive to our goal of elevating Colorado’s competitiveness at a time when we should be making it easier to do business here.”
“Colorado Concern has consistently opposed any efforts to weaken our existing Labor Peace Act because its statutory framework provides the right balance to ensure a healthy relationship between business and labor in this state,” said Dave Davia, President and CEO of Colorado Concern. “Colorado’s Labor Peace Act has long provided a unique middle ground between right-to-work and union state laws for more than 70 years.”
“Colorado’s Labor Peace Act was crafted decades ago when employers and labor advocates brokered a compromise that has served Coloradans well ever since, ensuring strong employment and economic conditions in our state that benefit all of us,” said Rachel Beck, Executive Director of the Colorado Competitive Council. “We need to reduce costs and burdens on businesses and their workers – not dismantle the carefully crafted framework that has kept Colorado competitive.”
“Colorado’s economic recovery is still a work-in-progress, and our costs of living and costs of doing business are still too high for working families and small businesses,” Carly West, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce said. “Now is a terrible time to battle over whether unions will increase everyone’s costs even more by forcing workers to pay dues and fees against their will by eliminating essential protections in Colorado’s Labor Peace Act; a national model for labor relations for more than 70 years. This fight hurts both workers and small businesses and couldn’t come at a worse time.”
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The Colorado Chamber of Commerce champions free enterprise, a healthy business environment and economic prosperity for all Coloradans. It is the only business association that works to improve the business climate for all sizes of business from a statewide, multi-industry perspective. What the Colorado Chamber accomplishes is good for all businesses, and that’s good for the state’s economy. It was created in 1965 based on the merger with the Colorado Manufacturers’ Association.