Hilary Glasgow, executive director of Colorado WINS, says the employment crisis is a result of decades of underfunding that has left the state as a de facto “training ground for the private sector.”
Read more about the experiences of state workers inside Colorado's prisons.
Colorado WINS Executive Director Hilary Glasgow issued the following statement today in response to the release of Governor Jared Polis’s 2023 budget proposal.
Union Steward at CMHHIP, Dr. Sallette Thompson, shares her story of being placed on administrative leave for seven months, with no clear end in sight.
“When we talk about state employees putting their lives on the line, we are not being hypothetical. This is the extreme extent of the daily dangers that many state employees face in order to provide services that protect the public. We must do everything in our power to support the workers who risk their lives to provide these crucial services,” said Hilary Glasgow, Executive Director of Colorado WINS.
As 13,000 auto workers from the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike to demand fair wages amid strong company profits and astronomical pay for executives, Colorado WINS, the state employee union representing more than 24,000 Colorado employees, released a statement of support.
Colorado WINS members met with CDOC Executive Director Stancil about the state of facility living conditions, and he committed to address the situation. Since then, shakedowns have stopped, privacy and maintenance has improved, and an investigation is underway by the Office of Inspector General.
WINS members spoke out about how short staffing is impacting their work, and why helping state workers make ends meet will make CO a competitive employer.
From Hilary Glasgow, COWINS Exec. Dir.: “I think there’s a lot of hope that things are going to be addressed and improved,” Glasgow said. “I think that there’s also, there’s always a fear that whatever they say is going to get used against them. There’s that sort of fear that always exists.”
CDOC has been recruiting staff from Puerto Rico to fill high vacancies - while this program is an admirable effort to make facilities safer, its execution is problematic. Puerto Rican staff are continuously being disrespected and discriminated against in BVCC, and this needs to change for the well-being of both staff and inmates.
We stand with our parent unions SEIU and AFT against attempts to hinder the work of creating equity in higher education. CO has been swift to protect rights when SCOTUS doesn't, thanks to the efforts of working people. Let's keep that precedent going.
COWINS members have been responding to a recent staffing plan at The Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo (CMHHIP). This plan changes shifts, job assignments and days off for hundreds of employees.
The same week that COWINS members submitted their intent to bargain with the CSU system, we stood in solidarity with grad workers and faculty that are also working to make CSU an employer of choice.
Yesterday, Governor Polis signed the state budget for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 into law. It is one of the single largest investments in Colorado public services in living memory.
Thanks to members' vigilance in enforcing our contract, CDLE (and all departments with similar practices) must cease and desist from applying departmental policies that violate Article 14.3.
Our Tentative Agreement with the Department of Corrections has been ratified as an addendum to our Partnership Agreement.
Members in CDOC came to a Tentative Agreement with their department for better safety, staffing, and employee wellness measure. Read all about it!
Late last year, CDOC Case Managers identified that the state had designated their pay scale incorrectly. Thanks to their organizing efforts, they’ve found a solution!
