Colorado’s economy is growing but the fact is that the current economic growth is benefiting corporations and those at the top and is leaving behind working coloradans. COPA is fighting to ensure that Colorado’s economy works for all Coloradans, to ensure that communities of color are centered in these fights and to hold corporations accountable for their greedy practices.
Wages
Since our start in 2015 we have been fighting to increase the minimum wage, which has not kept up with the rapidly rising cost of living in our state. In 2016, we passed an increase to the minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020. In 2019 we won the local wage option bill that gives cities and counties the ability to raise their minimum wage to a higher level than the state in order to meet the needs of their community. And now we are getting ready to pick up fights in different localities to increase wages for thousands of hard working Coloradans that are struggling to make ends meet.
Join our efforts to increase the wage in cities like Denver, Aurora, Lakewood and Adams County!
TABOR
In 1992, Colorado voters added Article X Section 20, the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) to the Colorado Constitution. In doing so, voters created the most restrictive tax laws of any state in the country. TABOR keeps us from having an equitable tax system and, by extension, well-funded services like schools, roads, and other critical public investments that help every Coloradan and make our state run. The reality is that our tax system is benefiting corporations and hurting everyday Coloradans.
Guarantee Decent Work
The percentage of workers who earn income through gig work has skyrocketed in recent years, largely due to the increasing use of apps like Uber, Lyft, Handy, Grubhub, TaskRabbit, and many others. These workers are not classified as employees under state laws, and so do not have access to health, retirement, or other benefits that companies would usually guarantee. They are considered independent contractors, even though they do not set their own rates and do not build their own client base, as other sectors of that class can do.
We are working to fight for equitable working conditions and just compensation.