Dear Editor,

Yesterday, we were happy to see the signing of several worker-friendly bills by Colorado Governor Ritter. International Union of Painters and Allied Trades and others worked hard to ensure the passage of House Bill 1310 — the Employee Misclassification Bill — protecting hardworking families from being misclassified as independent contractors, thus losing benefits and increasing employees’ costs.

Also, Governor Ritter signed Senate Bill 247 — a key priority bill for the Colorado AFL-CIO. This new law will extend unemployment benefits for thousands of out-of-work Coloradans, making more people eligible for benefits and providing job training for unemployed workers.

In solidarity,

Mike Cerbo
Colorado AFL-CIO executive director
John Fleck
Denver Area Labor Federation president