As of right now, in Denver County, only police officers, teachers and firefighters have the legal right to collectively bargain with their unions.
Collective bargaining is the active negotiation between a union and an employer that ensures better and safer working conditions for the employee. Every other municipal worker, defined as someone who works for the local or city government, does not have the right to collectively bargain.
Proposition 2U will affect librarians, social workers and waste workers in particular. These government workers are able to join a union but are not legally able to collectively bargain, which is the main function of a union. Collective bargaining ensures that the workplace is safe, workers are being paid adequate liveable wages and that workers have more say in their labor.
In Colorado, librarians are required to get a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Library and Information Science. In most instances, that is at least six years of schooling. However, the median salary for a librarian in Denver County is only $73,000.
Researchers at SmartAsset conducted a study on what salary is needed to live comfortably in Denver in 2024. They found that for a single adult to live comfortably in Denver, they need a salary of $106,000. The people who are serving our communities are being paid, on average, $33,000 less than what was found to be a liveable wage in Denver. Right now it is illegal for their unions to fix this through collective bargaining.
Stronger Denver is the organization that has been working to get this proposition on the ballot. They are a non-profit ballot initiative group that has been working to foster better labor conditions in Denver. The team worked tirelessly all across Denver County to get enough signatures to get the proposition on the ballot. Luckily, on Jul. 15, Denver city council unanimously voted to put 2U on the ballot.
Over the summer, I worked with Stronger Denver, collecting signatures to get this proposition on the ballot. I do not know that I could find a more compassionate group of people in the Denver area. Community members, local organizers and librarians gave countless hours of their free time to get 2U on the ballot. Now, it’s your turn to finish their hard work by voting.
Collective bargaining, particularly when it comes to our city workers, makes Denver stronger. When we adequately pay the employees that make our public systems function, we get a better Denver. Vote yes on Proposition 2U for a stronger Denver.
