Senate debate centers on repeal of Colorado's second‑election Labor Peace safeguard

DENVER — Senators debated Senate Bill 5 at length Feb. 18, a proposal to remove Colorado's second‑election requirement under the Colorado Labor Peace Act that now requires a 75% workplace supermajority to make union dues mandatory for all employees.

Sponsor Senator Danielson moved the bill on the floor, saying SB5 eliminates the second election and allows the federally required first election results to determine unionization outcomes. Supporters and multiple advocacy groups told the committee and the floor that removing the second step restores workers’ ability to complete a decision they already made in an initial secret ballot.

Opponents, including the Senate minority leader, warned the measure would permit a simple majority of voters to impose dues on all employees and described the change as coercive. One opponent warned, “That’s not democracy. That’s coercion,” and argued the law protected a balance struck over eight decades. Other senators raised concerns about administrative transparency, agency fees, and potential economic impacts on small businesses.

Floor debate covered suggested amendments that would have allowed workers to formally refuse union membership while exempting them from dues; that amendment failed on the floor. Lawmakers also discussed proposed financial transparency requirements for unions and the level of agency fees charged to non‑members.

The transcript records numerous senators speaking for and against the bill and lists senators who registered ‘no’ votes on the floor, but a final roll‑call tally for the bill is not recorded in the provided transcript segments. The debate highlighted a clear policy split across urban and rural districts, with rural senators expressing concern about impacts on small employers and service businesses.