Collective Bargaining Unit Bill Faces Criticism From County Commissioners

DENVER (CBS4)- Two Democratic state lawmakers are expected to announce a controversial labor bill in the final days of the legislative session. On Friday, county commissioners from across Colorado condemned the bill at the state Capitol.

The bill would require counties to recognize county employees as a collective bargaining unit if 50% of them want to unionize.

Right now, counties are not required to recognize collective bargaining units.

"In this top-down collective bargaining obligation, if it were forced on Weld County, would necessitate additional staff time, legal resources, human resources, expertise, dispute resolution costs and ultimately higher wages and benefits. Challenges to static county budgets may necessitate cuts for our citizens and local tax increases to accommodate higher employee salaries," said Weld County Commissioner Scott James.

The bill initially called for a mandatory union vote in city departments along with higher education and hospitals, but those groups were eliminated.