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DENVER — A major labor victory may be on the horizon for nearly 30,000 Colorado state workers.

Gov. Jared Polis, along with top Democrats in the Colorado House and Senate, announced support for a collective bargaining measure Friday at the Capitol.

“This bill is going to be life changing for state workers,” said Skip Miller, president of Colorado WINS, the state workers’ union.

A similar bill died in 2019 and in several previous sessions at the General Assembly. However, this year, all major Democratic leaders appear to be on board.

“Today’s announcement is a huge step toward meaningful partnerships that support our hardworking state employees who want to help deliver state services better and do their work more efficiently. By formalizing these partnerships, information will flow better from workers to management and voices of people will be heard,” said Polis.

Collective bargaining gives unions a seat at the table for salary and benefit negotiations.

Colorado does not allow public workers to strike, however, limiting some of the unions’ power.

Colorado is one of 14 states that currently do not have collective bargaining in state statute. For several years, unions have been negotiating salaries because of an executive order by the governor.