With the 2026 state legislative session officially underway, the Colorado Chamber will begin our weekly “What We’re Watching” updates to highlight bills that are important for the business community to follow.
This week, we’re focusing on House Bill 1005, a bill that is almost identical to Senate Bill 5 from the 2025 legislative session, which would have overhauled Colorado’s longstanding labor laws.
As introduced, HB 1005 would amend Colorado’s Labor Peace Act, which regulates collective bargaining agreements between employees and employers. Colorado’s system is unique and unlike any other state, requiring a secondary vote of 75% to approve mandating union fees, which are directly deducted from employee paychecks. This bill would remove that second election.
If HB 1005 is passed as is, it would make it easier for a small minority of employees at a company to force union dues on the organization’s entire workforce. The bill would also threaten Colorado’s competitiveness, making it harder to incentivize and attract businesses to our state.
The Colorado Chamber played a key role in negotiations on last year’s bill and sent a veto request letter to the governor’s office in partnership with other business groups, which included more than 1,000 signatures of both workers and business leaders across the state who opposed SB 5. This ultimately led to the governor vetoing the bill.
In a statement earlier this month following the announcement of the returning proposal, Colorado Chamber President and CEO Loren Furman said the following:
“The Colorado Chamber’s priority is to preserve the balance in Colorado labor laws that keeps us competitive, respects employee autonomy, and attracts top businesses to the state. The Chamber has not been included in any discussions to collaborate or work through concerns we had from last year’s bill. We will oppose any legislation that runs counter to our priorities and threatens our business climate.”
The Colorado Chamber’s Labor and Employment Council opposed the bill on Wednesday to preserve balance, protect employees who choose not to join a union, and ensure any changes to the Labor Peace Act don’t jeopardize Colorado’s competitiveness. The Colorado Chamber will continue to update members with important updates and any future action alerts.
View the bill as introduced here.