The Working People’s Platform is committed to supporting and endorsing legislation that makes Colorado fairer and more equitable for all working people – no matter where we come from or what we look like. Learn more about what the Working People’s Platform is working to pass and what it can do for you.
The American Rescue Plan
[expand title=
“The American Rescue Plan”
]
All essential workers, including state workers and direct care professionals, deserve premium pay and a seat at the table to raise standards industry-wide. Investment in public services and the workers who provide them means a stronger economy, more jobs, and more resilient communities. A seat at the table means we not only recover from this pandemic, but we are stronger and well-prepared when the next one inevitably hits. Care workers have kept Colorado open during the pandemic. The bill is due, and it’s high time we invest in this industry before the bottom falls out.
Status: Passed!
Implementation Priorities
- Fully fund public services with a $300M, 3-year investment in state workers to rectify a massive wage gap between public and private sector workers in the same jobs.
- Premium pay for workers on the front lines of the pandemic by giving businesses that employ frontline workers grants that must be spent on pandemic premium pay for employees.
- Investing in complete systems changes that make the care industry work for ALL by using FMAP increases to raise wages for increases to direct care workers and lift them out of poverty AND create a wage board to give direct care workers a seat at the table to ensure adequate wages and benefits in care work.
- Strengthening the Essential Healthcare Workforce through a Healthcare Workforce Trauma Recovery Fund
Specifics
Fund Public Services
$300M over three years is only slightly more than a normal 3% raise, and is necessary to bridge the massive wage gap between public sector workers and people doing the same work in the private sector.
Premium Pay
- Categories of workers we’d like covered
- Janitors, airport workers, security officers, non-homecare healthcare workers. Building service workers weren’t eligible for vaccines ahead of the general public, leaving them vulnerable to infection while performing their critical duties.
- Second priority: Also food manufacturing and retail, transportation, and social assistance.
Investing in complete systems changes that make the care industry work for ALL
- Use increase in FMAP funding to provide premium pay for direct care workers
- Create a wage board for direct-care workers
[/expand]