Opinion: We are barely scraping by, give us a fighting chance in Colorado for fair wages and benefits

Colorado workers are barely scraping by, fighting to make ends meet while corporate CEOs and investors rake in record profits. The system is rigged against us but in January, Colorado lawmakers will be able to give workers a fighting chance by passing the Worker Protection Act to empower workers to negotiate for better pay, better benefits, and safer working conditions.

This issue is personal to me. As a former Starbucks barista and union organizer, I lived through the exploitation that far too many workers experience. Working full-time — while a full-time student — wasn’t enough to cover the basics. As an insulin-dependent type 1 diabetic, I constantly fought for hours just to qualify for healthcare benefits. When I wasn’t fighting for hours I worked side gigs just to make ends meet. Rent, groceries, car maintenance, childcare — all these basics were out of reach for so many of us.

Corporate employers like Starbucks know how to manipulate the system to squeeze as much profit as possible. They held hours back from pro-union workers, forcing us into a corner where we had to choose between having enough hours to afford health care or risking our livelihoods to stand up for our rights. And many Colorado workers can’t afford to live off their main job’s wages. We pick up extra jobs just to pay rent and put food on the table. We can’t even consider vacations, pay for mental health care or afford to be sick. Workers carry these burdens while corporations pad their profits.

My Starbucks coworkers and I decided we had had enough. We needed living wages, and we also needed more of a say in our workplace. We wanted access to health care, fair staffing and scheduling, and a clear grievance procedure to protect our jobs when speaking up about unsafe conditions. We also needed to make sure that management couldn’t discriminate against us based on personal biases.

So, we decided to unionize – and Starbucks launched a brutal anti-union campaign designed to crush any hope of fair negotiations. They surveilled us, held mandatory anti-union meetings, and subjected one worker at a time to intimidation meetings with two corporate executives. They threatened our livelihoods, slashing hours, withholding benefits, and firing pro-union employees. I was nearly fired twice during this campaign. But in the end, we fought back and we won our election to form a union.

But winning that first election wasn’t enough because Colorado’s outdated labor laws force workers to go through an additional hurdle: a second election, where we need a supermajority — 75% approval from all employees — to even begin negotiating union security and representation fees. Not only does this second election allow management to unleash a second harassment and intimidation campaign against workers, it also interferes with the right of workers to engage in meaningful dialogue with their employer. It’s not just unfair — it’s undemocratic.

The Worker Protection Act will fix this. It will modernize Colorado’s labor laws by eliminating the second election requirement, allowing workers to begin negotiating their contracts without facing another round of corporate bullying. It’s not just about Starbucks workers, either, it will help all workers in Colorado who want to form a union to negotiate for better wages, benefits, and working conditions.

In a state where more than half of renters are cost-burdened, paying more than a third of their income just to keep a roof over their heads, the bill will expand workers’ ability to negotiate, putting more money in their pockets. And when workers earn more, they spend more, boosting local businesses and invigorating the economy. Plus, when workers are in unions, they have the security of being able to advocate for public safety, like nurses speaking up for patient care and hospitality workers ensuring food safety. Everyone benefits when workers are empowered.

Despite corporate lobbyists’ defense of our 81-year-old labor law, Coloradans deserve a labor law that reflects the realities of today’s economy. Passing this bill will help level the playing field between corporate giants and the workers who make their profits possible.

My message to our elected officials is simple: Coloradans deserve the freedom to organize, to negotiate, and to ensure that their work is valued. Please vote for the Worker Protection Act and make Colorado a place where workers can thrive.

Liza Nielsen worked for years at Starbucks before leaving a few weeks ago. She is a Starbucks Workers United union supporter.

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