Portside

Nearly 600 workers at Denver Public Library will be represented by a collective bargaining unit after employees voted overwhelmingly in favor of forming Denver’s first union under newly afforded labor rights. 

The victory has been years in the making. Library workers have been organizing since 2020, even before they were legally allowed to engage in collective bargaining — which is arguably the most important power for a union.

The unit, which formed under Communications Workers of America Local 7799, filed paperwork to be formally recognized just days after the city’s new union rights took effect.

Over 375 workers, more than two-thirds of the bargaining unit, signed union authorization cards at the beginning of the year. The union said members were forced to conduct an election through an arbitrated process because library leaders chose not to voluntarily recognize its formation. 

“Rather than honor that clear mandate, the Library Commission chose to prolong the process and force DPL employees into an election. But the result only made our position as workers more undeniable,” the union said in a statement. 

The final vote was 391 to 16. 

Now, the union will work to negotiate a contract with library leaders. The union said last year that it plans to focus on improving compensation, transparency and staffing.

Library workers told Denverite that many of them were fighting burnout caused by huge workloads and inequitable staffing. Like much of the city, the library suffered from major budget cuts, which have stretched an already exhausted workforce.  

They’re not the only ones who have unionized

Denver City Council aides received voluntary union recognition from the city last week. Council aides — the often-unseen workers who help keep the city’s legislative branch running — said they wanted to unionize to address high turnover rates and loose workplace processes. 

Other unions may be in the pipeline. Some city employees have been represented by unions but without 2024’s labor rights expansion, they weren’t allowed to collectively bargain for a contract.