Colorado’s Service Workers Won $22 Million in Wage Increases through Collective Bargaining in 2024
Union Contracts Make CO a Leader in Wages and Benefits
DENVER, CO – In 2024, service workers across Colorado and members of Service Employees International Union Local 105 secured over $22 Million in wage increases over the next four years. Alongside industry-leading benefits packages through collective bargaining with their employers, these gains, celebrated by workers and their communities, continue to make Colorado a place where service workers with a union can thrive.
In 2024, thousands of SEIU Local 105 members secured landmark raises in their compensation at the bargaining table, including:
- Over 2000 janitors from 17 contractors across the Denver metro area
- Almost 1000 janitors and airport airline lounge workers at DEN
- Over 150 healthcare professionals at Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains and Urban Peak
“It’s clear that when workers stand together in a union, we win big,” said Minerva Evangelista, a janitor at DIA for the last 13 years and member of SEIU Local 105. “Together, we brought home more money for our families, our jobs are more secure, and we feel a sense of pride and respect at work. Because we stood together, a janitor at DIA will see, on average, over $12,000 in their pocket over the next three years. This should be the standard, because everybody deserves better jobs and a decent living.”
Additionally, more workers are forming unions and bargaining for better working conditions. In May, social workers at Mental Health Professionals in Boulder voted overwhelmingly yes to unionize. In November, shelter workers at Urban Peak, who voted in 2023 to become the first unionized center for the unhoused in Colorado, secured their historic first contract through collective bargaining.
“Our momentum is growing every day,” said Bobby Schrieber, a social worker in Denver and member of SEIU Local 105. “My coworkers and I care for our community’s most vulnerable, and it was our unity that won us our first-ever union contract at Urban Peak. Together, we’ve made a change that protects and uplifts not just us, but our families, our communities, and the people we serve every day.”
Colorado Fiscal Institute reports that unionized workers in Colorado earn on average 10% more in wages than their non-union counterparts. The Center for American Progress found that working-class union households hold nearly four times as much median wealth ($201,240) as the typical working-class nonunion household ($52,221). In 2024, members across SEIU Local 105 won almost $28 Million in additional benefits alone, reaching a total of over $50 Million in new wages and benefits that will be utilized throughout the communities they call home. Better wages and working conditions have widespread effects, with many unionized workers now having more discretionary income and benefits that spread through the community such as better healthcare, transportation, and other public services.
“Our union represents service workers in cities across the country,” said Stephanie Felix-Sowy, President of SEIU Local 105. “Here in Denver, unionized airport workers are earning higher wages than their non-union counterparts in other cities. Our janitors benefit from a united, master contract—something unavailable to workers in non-unionized areas. This year, we’ve fought hard to raise the minimum wage and secure worker protections in law. We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished for workers in Colorado and across the nation.”
The wages and benefits secured in these contracts will be in place for 1-4 years, depending on the employer, and will continue to be compounded by future contract negotiations and any pro-worker changes in local, state, and federal law, which SEIU Local 105 members will continue to strongly advocate for.
