Last week, Legislative Workers of Denver received voluntary recognition by Denver City Council and Denver Mayor Johnston. Legislative Workers of Denver is represented by the Denver Newspaper Guild, a local of The NewsGuild-CWA.
Legislative Workers of Denver is a collective group of part-time and full-time staff who provide specialized, professional-level work to support Denver’s 13 elected city council members.
With this recognition, workers are heartened by the cooperative approach of the Mayor and City Council and expect to see their partnership continue through a fair and timely bargaining process.
“We are seeking this bargaining unit as an extension of that commitment to Denverites and the elected officials we support,” workers wrote in a letter they sent to the city council. “We believe that a workforce imbued with bargaining rights and negotiated outcomes is a more resilient and effective workforce. We believe this unit and the outcomes of a formal negotiation will raise the retention rates among staffers, improve living conditions for our members, protect institutional knowledge of the legislative branch, and enhance the impacts we can make together for Denverites.”
Denver City Council unanimously referred Ballot Measure 2U, establishing collective bargaining rights for city employees, to Denver voters in November 2024. City Council also unanimously passed an implementation ordinance in December 2025, detailing the various processes to implement these rights. Denver voters overwhelmingly voted to support public workplace democracy in Ballot Measure 2U.
“Denver deserves a professional legislative workforce,” said Zack Burley, senior council aide and member of the organizing committee. “We love our jobs, we love our city, and we want to serve its residents – this union will improve outcomes for both aides and residents by ensuring public workers in the legislative branch have meaningful input on their working conditions and job protections.”
The legislative workers said they are eager to enter into contract negotiations with city leadership, to have a voice in their working conditions and to strengthen Denver’s legislative branch through the direct input of those who power it.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Emily Ochoa, Senior Aide, emiocme@gmail.com, 720-830-6602
Megan Ives, Senior Aide, megan.ives65@gmail.com, 303-895-6054