Frequently Asked Questions at CJA

Who and what is a union?

We the workers are our union. We decide which priorities we negotiate in our contract, and we elect our own leadership to uphold and enforce the contract. A union is a group of workers coming together to make real changes in their workplace regarding their wages, benefits, and working conditions.

Why are Larimer County CJA workers organizing a union?

We are coming together as a union because it's time for us to have a voice at CJA. We come to worker and make CJA happen every single day because we care about our residents and the broader communities. We love what we do - but we also know it can be better. Together, we will have more power to make needed changes to our workplace and in turn, make CJA better for everyone.

How would a union help us? 

Unionizing is all about coming together as a group of coworkers to make our workplace better for everyone. We’ll do that through a union contract which we achieve through collective bargaining. That means a group of our coworkers who are chosen by us, alongside a negotiator from AFSCME’s national union, will sit across the table from management and negotiate a contract that will determine everything about our jobs – pay, working conditions, health care, retirement, time off, disciplinary procedures, and much, much more. When an agreement is reached between management and our bargaining team, we all will vote to approve or reject the agreement. Now, our job conditions are changed on the whim of directors or managers and without our input. With a union and a union contract, not only will that end, but we can make needed changes too that management may not see or even might ignore. Simply put, our union will be a voice at our workplace that has real power, backed up by our coworkers as a group and by union members across the state and country.

Will we lose our jobs if we unionize? 

No. It is illegal for an employer to fire someone for union activity. In addition, our union contract with CJA will be negotiated and then voted on by us, the workforce who keeps CJA running. As such, we will only approve measures that benefit us as a group. Any management proposals that eliminate jobs in the bargaining unit would only be approved if we all approve them as well – which, as you can imagine, would be unlikely to occur.

Will we have to take a pay cut? Again, much like the above, why would we vote for anything that would take away pay from ourselves and our coworkers? We’re coming together so ALL of us can get better pay, benefits, job security, and more.

Will my union dues used for politics? 

No. It is illegal to use union dues for political action. AFSCME has a separate, optional political PAC called PEOPLE. We even encourage you to be a donor if you are an AFSCME member! PEOPLE helps us protect the rights and interests of workers and, in fact, it’s thanks to PEOPLE here in Colorado that we get to have this debate at all. Two years ago, none of us had the right to form a union here at CJA, and because of union members coming together through PEOPLE, we successfully won the right to collective bargaining.

Why have union organizers visited my/my coworker’s homes? 

We want everyone to have the chance to learn about our union and have a face-to-face conversation, in a safe and private environment. We are working to give each and every one in our unit that chance, and house visits are one of those ways. That being said - some have asked not to be visited at their homes, and those folks have been removed from that list. If you would like to opt-out of house visits, you can contact (720) 916-8160.