Southern Colorado Labor Council

10/29/2026

Ballots have to be turned in by Tuesday at 7 p.m. Don’t mail it now. Drop it in a box.

And here’s why Southern Colorado Labor Council is standing behind these six.

Dwayne Romero, Congress: an Army combat veteran raised by a single mom, he’s pledged to reverse the Medicaid and SNAP cuts Jeff Hurd voted for and to fix reimbursement so rural hospitals get paid on time.

Aaron Gutierrez, State Senate District 3: a former public defender from a family that worked the fields and the steel mill. He told our labor forum that unions built Pueblo’s middle class, and he’ll fight to expand bargaining rights for more workers.

Vic Meyers, House District 47: a former corrections officer and founding member of Colorado WINS who went on to teach math in Walsenburg. He served in the 101st Airborne and has called Trinidad home for 25 years.

Allen Medina, Sheriff: a union member who supports deputies’ right to bargain with IBPO Local 837 and says local resources won’t go to ICE roundups.

Angela Giron, County Commissioner: she sponsored overtime protections for corrections officers and cosponsored firefighters’ right to bargain. With county jobs on the line, that record matters.

Naseem Zubi, Assessor: twenty years in property appraisal, endorsed by the current assessor, and a Teamster for 15 years.

Union members did the research. Check the list before you vote.

10/28/2026

It is with heavy hearts that we mark the passing of union sister Delores Huerta from the United Farm Workers at the age of 96. Delores was no stranger to Colorado - joining workers from across the state to build strong unions. She also returned often to educate a new generation of organizers.

She most recently fought alongside farm workers as Colorado’s legislature cut overtime by requiring farm workers to work a minimum of 56 hours before being paid any overtime. She helped pass Colorado’s Agricultural Worker Bill of Rights that finally required overtime pay for farm workers after years of racially motivated exclusion from those rules. That bill also granted collective bargaining rights and basic safety standards.

She helped the United Steelworkers in Pueblo as they fought and won the long strike against Oregon Steel. The fact that steel is still being produced in the city, and by union workers, is a testament to her and many other organizers’ work.

She was gracious and generous with her time. She’d complete a speaking event like the ones hosted at History Colorado with an exhaustive question-and-answer period followed by even more time spent with individual people who came up to tell their stories.

Her legacy is too broad and deep to be fully explained here. She was a fighter, an advocate and a sister. She will be missed.

10/28/2026

A grievance is how a union contract gets enforced.

Think about what happens without one. Your boss ignores overtime rules, or disciplines you without following the process, and your only option is to complain to HR and hope. They have no obligation to fix it.

With a union contract, you file a grievance: a formal written claim that your employer broke the agreement. Your steward takes it to management. If it can’t be settled, it moves up the ladder, and many contracts end with a neutral arbitrator whose decision is binding on both sides.

That’s the difference between a promise and a contract. A promise depends on your boss keeping it. A contract comes with a process that makes them.

And you don’t go in alone. Your steward does the paperwork and the arguing with you.

Does this sound good to you? Reach out and we can connect you to a union for your industry.

10/27/2026

Three things on your ballot scarier than anything in the Halloween aisle.

Prop 132: any amount of fentanyl is a felony, with mandatory prison time and no path to treatment. It fills private prison beds.

Prop 136: the same 4.4% income tax rate for a steelworker and a billionaire, locked in for good.

Amendment 81: forces local police to report people to ICE.

All three trace back to Advance Colorado, the dark-money group that won’t say who funds it.

Vote NO on 132, 136, and 81.

10/26/2026

Today is the last day we recommend mailing your ballot. After today, skip the mailbox.

Pueblo County has 15 secure drop boxes, open 24 hours a day until 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3. They’re at the courthouse, the Election Office, the fairgrounds gate on Prairie, CSU Pueblo, branch libraries, and more. Voter Service and Polling Centers are open too, if you’d rather hand your ballot to a person.

Before you drop it, sign the envelope. Your ballot has to be received by 7 p.m. on Nov. 3. A postmark doesn’t count.

Haven’t registered? Today is the last day to register and still be mailed a ballot. After that, you can still register and vote in person through Election Day.

Check the full list of locations here: https://county.pueblo.org/clerk-and-recorder-department/polling-places

10/25/2026

In 2022, Pueblo’s state senate seat was decided by 1,705 votes out of nearly 66,000 cast. This year the seat is open, and it’s one of the most competitive in Colorado.

Aaron Gutierrez is a fourth-generation Puebloan. His family worked the fields and the steel mill. He’s a former public defender who told our labor forum in May that unions helped build Pueblo’s middle class. He's committed to getting more people covered by a union contract and protecting everything we've fought for as a labor movement.

His opponent, Dana Charles, is a founder of Forging Pueblo. She and her friends say their goal is to capture all areas of culture, government and education included.

Southern Colorado Labor Council endorsed Aaron Gutierrez for Senate District 3. This one will come down to who turns in their ballots.

10/25/2026

10/25/2026

Union members turned out today to rally and knock doors with the champions that we’re going to count on to help fight for the working class and take back our democracy! From Allen Medina for Pueblo County Sheriff and Angela Giron For Pueblo County to Aaron for Pueblo to Dwayne Romero for Colorado and Phil Weiser for Governor, union members are pounding the pavement and talking to neighbors about why these candidates won our Union Town endorsement this year.

There are 10 days left and shifts all next weekend to bring it home for the working class! Reach out if you’re ready to help make the difference.

Colorado AFL-CIO
Colorado WINS
SEIU Local 105
AFSCME-Colorado
Afscme Local 1335
Pueblo Education Association Public Page
Pueblo County Education Association - PCEA
USW District 12

10/24/2026

Pueblo County District 70 finally has a new board member, and the bill for the last year is coming due.

A judge ruled in August that the D70 board broke Colorado’s open meetings law twice: once by hiding Riverstone Academy’s religious character from the public, and again when Board President Ann Bennett secretly appointed Susie Carnes, a Forging Education teacher, to a vacant seat. The district has to pay the plaintiffs’ attorney fees. They’re asking for $78,567, with interest. Luckily, the board voted 3-1 to drop its appeal.

This week, the board seated Jonathan Lewis, a D70 parent and one of the three people who sued to make the board follow the law. Bennett cast the only no vote. Her reason was his church, which she said promotes an “LGBTQ+ agenda.” The church’s website says “all belong here.” Carnes is out. Riverstone has closed.

This is what Forging Pueblo brings. So remember, Forging Pueblo’s slate is on your ballot this year: Dana Charles for state senate, Greg Grahek for coroner, Leroy Mora for sheriff.

Vote like it.

10/23/2026

In case you missed it! >>> Amendment 87 HELPS older Coloradans!

By 2030, one in five Coloradans will be 65+, and many are already struggling to keep up with rising costs on fixed incomes. Fairer tax systems and more government funding HELPS EVERYONE!

Read about it: https://coloradosun.com/2026/10/16/opinion-amendment-87-would-help-build-support-every-older-coloradans-can-count-on/