In the final days of the 2022 legislative session, the Colorado General Assembly passed SB 22-230 along party lines requiring most of the state’s counties to engage in collective bargaining with labor unions representing county employees.
Previously, Colorado county officials could choose whether to engage in collective bargaining with unions purporting to represent their employees, and a handful had chosen to do so.
Should Gov. Jared Polis sign SB 22-230 into law, the legislation would open the door for the unionization of more than 30,000 county workers and notably expand unions’ political power in the state.
The Freedom Foundation highlighted some of the legislation’s flaws in testimony before the House State, Civic, Military & Veterans Affairs Committee on May 5, 2022, and in an op-ed for The Center Square: “County collective bargaining bill rewards unions, harms employees and taxpayers“
