Denver City Council Votes Unanimously to Put Collective Bargaining Rights on the Ballot

(DENVER) – Teamsters Locals 17 and 455 commend the Denver City Council for voting unanimously to approve a ballot referendum that would grant collective bargaining rights to public sector workers in the City of Denver. In November, Denver voters will have the opportunity to vote to approve collective bargaining rights for nearly 15,000 of the city’s essential public servants.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Ed Bagwell, President of Local 17. “Denver is the largest city in America that does not have collective bargaining rights for public employees, but the tide is now shifting. For more than 20 years, Teamsters have worked alongside Denver public employees to help them secure collective bargaining rights and it’s an incredible thing to see finally come to fruition.”

“Thank you to all of the members of the Denver City Council for using their political and legislative power to expand the rights of working people,” said Dean Modecker, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 455. “We look forward to winning in November and securing these public servants strong Teamsters contracts in the years to come.”

For public sector workers in Denver to have the right to organize a union, there must be a change to the city’s charter, which the ballot referendum would do. If approved by voters in the general election, collective bargaining can begin in January 2026.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share via email