{"id":33213,"date":"2025-06-23T12:38:32","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T19:38:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redphoenixnews.com\/?p=33213"},"modified":"2026-04-23T23:37:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T04:37:27","slug":"gov-polis-vetoes-worker-protection-act-betrays-colorados-working-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/2025\/06\/gov-polis-vetoes-worker-protection-act-betrays-colorados-working-class\/","title":{"rendered":"El gobernador Polis veta la Ley de Protecci\u00f3n de los Trabajadores y traiciona a la clase trabajadora de Colorado."},"content":{"rendered":"

John M. | Corresponsal de Red Phoenix | Colorado\u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 16, 2025, Colorado Governor Jared Polis dealt a devastating blow to the state\u2019s labor movement, and, in the same stroke, a blow to the illusion of the bourgeois union\u2019s militancy or effectiveness, by vetoing Senate Bill 5 (SB-5), the Worker Protection Act<\/a>. The bill aimed to eliminate a restrictive provision in the 1943 Colorado Labor Peace Act, which requires workers who vote to unionize by a simple majority to then win a second election with a 75% approval threshold to negotiate union security agreements. This unique requirement, not found in any other state, creates a formidable barrier to effective union organizing, limiting workers\u2019 ability to fund representation that advocates for better wages, safety, and dignity. Polis\u2019s veto, siding with the capitalist class, exposes the harsh reality: at the end of the day, Democrats with their grandstanding, peddling empty pro-worker promises and union leaders\u2019 lack of spine by aligning labor\u2019s demands with corporate interests, keep workers tied to business power, leaving the working class to bear the cost of exploitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polis\u2019s veto reveals a Democratic Party unwilling to stand firm for workers. The Governor defended the Labor Peace Act as a source of \u201cpeace and stability\u201d<\/a> for employers and unions, but that \u201cstability\u201d keeps the capitalist class in control. By upholding the 75% rule, Polis ensures businesses face less pressure from unions, leaving workers stuck with low wages, unsafe conditions, and weak bargaining power. The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, a mouthpiece for big business, praised the veto, showing who benefits when workers\u2019 rights are blocked. This choice hits working individuals hardest, as they struggle to pay bills while employers pocket profits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not the first time the Governor has turned his back on Colorado\u2019s workers after making bare-minimum promises to them. In 2024, he vetoed three union-priority bills, including measures to address wage theft and protect workers from coercive employer meetings. These actions sparked a rally outside the Capitol, attended by an array of Democratic leaders blowing hot air. \u201cThe Democratic Party is currently in a fight for its soul,\u201d<\/a> said state House candidate Bryan Lindstrom at the time, \u201ca fight between those champions fighting for the working class and those who sell out to corporate interests.\u201d Once again, their words rang hollow; these same Democrats failed to override Polis\u2019s vetoes or muster any real fight for labor. Their public posturing is all an illusion to win votes while their inaction leaves workers with low pay, unsafe jobs, and no leverage. The Democratic Party\u2019s support for SB-5 was a mirage, a show of solidarity that crumbled when Polis, their leader, prioritized corporate power over workers\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opportunist Union leaders, instead of fighting for the working class\u2019s independent power, align labor\u2019s demands with capitalist interests, chasing concessions that keep workers tethered to corporate control. For instance, unions such as UFCW Local 7, SEIU Local 105, and Colorado AFL-CIO, endorsed Polis in 2018, expecting he would deliver pro-labor policies, only to see him repeatedly veto bills that would strengthen workers\u2019 rights. Rather than pushing for bold changes, like comprehensive bargaining rights across industries or ironclad protections against corporate union-busting, these leaders often settle for small reforms, such as tweaking outdated labor laws or securing limited training funds that don\u2019t threaten employers\u2019 dominance. This strategy, rooted in compromise with the capitalist class, weakens labor\u2019s ability to challenge a system that puts profits over people. By binding workers\u2019 hopes to what bosses are willing to concede, these leaders leave the working class stuck in a cycle of fighting for scraps while employers hold the real power. This approach fails to build the kind of united, independent labor movement needed to shift the balance toward workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These sycophant union leaders, led by Dennis Dougherty, from Colorado AFL-CIO, are looking towards next year, and are claiming to rally behind Initiative 43<\/a>. A proposed measure that would make Colorado the second \u201cjust-cause employment\u201d state in the U.S., prohibiting companies with more than eight employees from firing workers without valid reasons, such as substandard performance or gross insubordination \u201cColorado workers should expect common-sense workplace protections that prevent them from being unfairly fired,\u201d Dougherty declared. Even this effort, born of necessity, is a grim reminder of the uphill battle workers face when their leaders fail them. They set their sights on minimum reforms, which, like the previous bills, the democrats will shoot down at the last moment. Instead of directing the militancy of rank-and-file workers to force Polis to reverse his veto, Dougherty has shifted to a so-called \u201ccommon-sense\u201d reform for 2026. This is all designed to harness workers\u2019 rage, tame their resolve, and lead them into dead-end pursuits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Democrats\u2019 hypocrisy and the fecklessness of opportunist union leaders expose a brutal reality: labor cannot free itself while tied to capital, whether through Democrats or their union lackeys. The Democratic Party\u2019s empty promises, vowing to lift workers while delivering vetoes prove they\u2019re nothing but managers of corporate interests, stringing labor along with lies. Privileged union bosses, profiting from their cushy roles, keep workers chained to employers\u2019 whims, too spineless to challenge the system that exploits them. True freedom for the working class demands that labor seize the reins of its own power. This means forging independent, worker-led organizations that spit in the face of capitalist compromise, fighting for worker-controlled workplaces, industry-wide bargaining, or laws that bury union-busting. Only when workers take charge, free from the clutches of capitalist-aligned parties and the labor aristocracy, can they win the wages, safety, and dignity they have been denied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis speaks to reporters during a news conference in Denver about what happened during the 2025 legislative session. (Jesse Paul\/The Colorado Sun)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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John M. | Red Phoenix correspondent | Colorado– On May 16, 2025, Colorado Governor Jared Polis dealt a devastating blow to the state\u2019s labor movement,..<\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":40197,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[181,97],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-labor","category-us-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/redphoenix.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/06-04-25_polis.png?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33213"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40198,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33213\/revisions\/40198"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}