On March 3, the Colorado State Legislature proposed a bill that would have cut base wages for tipped workers. Coloradans for the Common Good (CCG) fought back! In collaboration with CWA 7777 and the Colorado AFL-CIO, CCG organized a press conference and successfully blocked efforts to mandate that Denver, Boulder, and Edgewater reduce the local minimum wage for thousands of tipped workers. CCG also pushed for legislation to expand the right to collective bargaining as a part of their larger strategy to support workers in Colorado.

In a press statement, they assert: “Hardworking Coloradans deserve the opportunity to earn a good wage, especially as the cost of living continues to rise…The amended version of the bill importantly avoids an immediate wage cut for tipped employees and preserves some local control. However, the bill only gives local control to local governments if they want to vote to keep their tipped minimum wage low, but will not allow them to vote to end the subminimum wage for tipped workers. We will continue to work for fair and livable wages with tips on top for Coloradans at the state and local level.” 

Last week, CCG was back at the Capitol to support the Worker Protection Act and again the next day to stand with educators against cuts to education. CCG's work at the Capitol continues as the legislature considers the Worker Protection Act, the state budget, and other issues important to members.

(Photo Credit: Denver7)

Over 300 leaders of Coloradans for the Common Good (CCG) celebrated 5 years of organizing for the common good. Leaders shared stories of how this work helped them grow and develop, celebrated numerous achievements in improving conditions for working families, and committed to continue working together in the future.

"I remember when there were just a few of us around a table," B'nai Havurah member and CCG leader Zeik Saidman, "and to see all those people and institutions in the room together makes me very proud."

Some of the wins highlighted included expanding pandemic workplace protections to 50,000 grocery store and meat packing workers, obtaining $29 million in rental assistance funding in the 2024 Denver city budget, and raising wages for hourly school employees to some of the highest in the country.

"Through this organization I have been able to stand as equals with the people who run my school district," said JESPA President and CCG leader Zander Kaschub; "that is something I never thought I could do as a food service worker who was angry about what I was seeing happen to students and my colleagues."

[Photo Credit: Simone Schiess Photography]

Coloradans for the Common Good, including Jeffco Education Support Professionals Assoc. (JESPA), called on the Jeffco Board of Education to honor their commitments to promote healthy meals and end outsourcing of special ed transportation.

CCG Statement to the Jeffco Board of Education

On Tuesday, Coloradans for the Common Good (CCG) leaders gathered with allies from the Denver Metro Tenants Union and the Community Economic Defense Project, in addition to the Denver Mayor and 8 members of Denver City Council, to celebrate the city's historic investment of $29.1 Million in emergency rental assistance.

This investment is expected to keep 6,000 families housed who would otherwise face eviction and comes after months of CCG organizing, including a mayoral forum in May with 350 attendees, a press conference on the issue, and countless phone calls, emails, and meetings with elected officials.

At an assembly that drawing 350 leaders from 20 institutions of Coloradans for the Common Good (CCG), community leaders secured commitments from Denver Mayoral runoff candidates around eviction, wage theft, mental health, and workers' pensions. 

After CCG leaders shared personal stories, candidates were asked to answer 'yes' or 'no' to ten proposals addressing specific housing, mental health, gun safety, workers' rights, and immigrants' rights issues.

“If the answer is 'Yes,' we’re going to cheer and applaud,” explained CCG leader Joyce Brooks.  “If the answer is 'No,' we’ll just be silent and wait for them to elaborate at the end."  Kelly Brough responded affirmatively to all ten proposals while Mike Johnston answered YES to nine of the ten.

Both candidates committed to extending subpoena power to the City’s Auditor to effectively investigate cases of wage theft.  

Yes or No? Coloradans for the Common Good Holds Reverse Mayoral Forum, Westword [pdf]

Recap of Commitments Made at Mayoral Accountability Assembly, Coloradans for the Common Good

In advance of 2021 School Board elections in Jefferson County, Coloradans for the Common Good (CCG) assembled over 300 people at Trinity Presbyterian Church for a non-partisan candidate accountability session.  All six school board candidates were asked "yes or no" in regard to increasing wages for education support professionals and increasing access to healthy food.

All six candidates said yes. After the election, CCG worked alongside member institution Jeffco Education Support Professional Association (JESPA) to hold the recently elected candidates accountable to their commitment.  The work resulted in higher wages for school workers and healthier food options for Jeffco students.  Andrea Cisneros, a leader with JESPA and CCG, tells the story of how it happened:

[Excerpt]

“Some parents got ahold of our union and asked us how to get better food that’s more culturally relevant to what they eat at home....”

“Parents were upset and didn't know what steps to take. They joined us and the Coloradans for the Common Good, … and, together, we set up a game plan.”  JESPA [Jeffco Education Support Professionals Association] is a member of Coloradans for the Common Good, a broad-based organization comprised of over 30 local institutions, including congregations, unions, non-profits, and neighborhood organizations, committed to the common good of all people.

The game plan was to grow their network of support among the community, partner with groups familiar with farm-to-table approaches, visit other districts that were serving healthy foods, and push their elected officials or any candidate running for office, at the time, to publicly support JESPA’s efforts.

JESPA ... successfully negotiated a pilot program that will replace junk food and highly processed prepackaged food with healthier, scratch-cooked options. Plus, menu creation will include parent and student voices and will have more culturally relevant options. The pilot will start in three schools: an elementary, middle, and high school.

While the menu is still in progress, Cisneros hopes to serve quesadillas, enchiladas, or homemade burritos, instead of frozen burritos in a packet.

“We realized that we have more power together, … and we couldn’t have done this without the support from our parents and community,” she adds.

[Photo Credit: NEA Today]

Educators, Parents Team Up to Bring Healthier Food to Cafeteria, NEA Today [pdf]

[Photo Credits: (Top) Olivia Sun, Colorado Sun; (Right) Helen Richardson, The Denver Post]

Denver, Jefferson County School Districts Raise Hourly Wages for Support Staff Struggling to Afford Food and Housing, Colorado Sun [pdf]

[Excerpts]

Several organizations, including Coloradans for the Common Good, have met with Arvada and Jefferson County leaders for many years to discuss the need to address the affordable housing crisis in the region, they said.

“Our message is that they cannot just rely on the faith communities and nonprofits to solve this problem,” according to a press release from Coloradans for the Common Good. “Government agencies have a role to help ensure that everyone has a safe roof over their heads.”

City of Arvada and Jefferson County leaders recently received more than $120 million in stimulus payments from the federal government, and Coloradans for the Common Good and their allies are asking elected officials to put a substantial sum of the money toward preserving and expanding affordable housing, so that the trend does not continue in the community.

[Photo Credit: Olivia Sun, Colorado Sun]

One Apartment Building Changing Hands Sheds Light on the Dire Shortage of Affordable Housing in Arvada, Colorado Sun [pdf]

[Excerpt]

"I have seen firsthand how this accountability system targets neighborhood schools and our students of color,” said Germaine Padberg-Ludlow, a Denver elementary teacher and member of Coloradans for the Common Good, a coalition of community, union and faith groups supporting the audit.

Padberg-Ludlow previously taught at Denver’s John Amesse Elementary School, which was closed and then reopened with new leadership over the objections of parents and teachers. At the time, Denver Public Schools had its own rating system and a more aggressive school closure process than required by state law. She said the system drives teacher turnover, forcing students to build new relationships and widening achievement gaps.

[Photo credits: Nathan W. Armes, Chalkbeat, left; Coloradans for the Common Good,right]

Colorado School Accountability Audit Moves Forward, Chalkbeat [pdf]

[Excerpts]

Led by Coloradans for the Common Good, the organizations convened virtually last week, concerned primarily about the roadblocks that stand in the way of families being able to fully access the meals that Jeffco Public Schools has been distributing this fall. Problems with scheduling and transportation mean some kids and their family members may be going hungry.

“Our schools, for better or worse, have become a central part of our social safety net, and our social safety net is already deeply frayed in our country,” said Reagan Humber, a member of the group’s steering committee and pastor at House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver. “And so kids are depending even more on that food.”

Members of Coloradans for the Common Good worry that the district doesn’t operate enough distribution sites across communities so that all families in need can pick up food nearby, including those who are limited by transportation. They’re just as concerned that the sites don’t offer the kind of flexible hours that cater to families’ schedules.

...

Humber would like to see Jeffco Public Schools bus food across the community, noting that drivers have agreed to transport meals to students so that they don’t have to walk miles to pick up food. He is also urging the district to ensure a school in every town it serves offers meal distribution and that every neighborhood serving a population of students who attend a Title I school has nearby access to school meals.

[Photo Credit: Brandan Robertson/Colorado Sun]

About a Third of Jeffco Students Qualify for Subsidized Meals. There Are Fears Many Can't Access Them During Coronavirus, Colorado Sun [pdf]