More than 22,000 Colorado state employees sent a message on June 11: We want a greater voice in workplace decision-making; we have ideas for improving public services; and we want representation through our union-Colorado WINS.

The message was delivered via ballots for union representation by Colorado WINS (Workers for Innovation and New Solutions), a coalition union made up of the AFT, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the Service Employees International Union. The ballots were cast by workers in five occupational groups representing more than two-thirds of the 32,000 state employees eligible to unionize. The five groups are made up of professionals in: Enforcement and Protective Services; Physical Sciences and Engineering; Health Care and Medical Services; Labor, Trades, and Crafts; and Administrative Support and Related Services.

The union organizing campaign came about last fall after Gov. Bill Ritter issued an executive order expanding the workplace rights of state employees through union-management partnership agreements. The governor's stated goal is to improve government efficiency by giving public employees a voice on the job.

"The executive order, combined with the representation election, starts a new chapter for Colorado state employees and the people they serve," says AFT president Edward J. McElroy. Through Colorado WINS, he notes, state government professionals will have a say in the workplace and a seat at the partnership table.

Colorado WINS is in the process of organizing an additional 11,000 state employees in the Financial Services and Professional Services occupational groups.

"Dedication to quality public services in communities across Colorado is ultimately what Colorado WINS is about," McElroy says.

"The victory is a big, big deal," says Phil Kugler, assistant to the AFT president for organization and field services. "This is a story of the linkage between political action and union building-how effective mobilization in politics can create opportunity for organizing new members." Each member union of the coalition supported the candidacy of Gov. Ritter, a Democrat.</p><p>The victories in Colorado also carry the mark of the AFT's own mobilization and solidarity. Scores of members, retirees and staff from state and local affiliates across the country, including Alaska, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico, New York and Texas, served as volunteer organizers for Colorado WINS.

June 13, 2008