Scoop: Colorado Democrats will pursue key pro-worker bill again

It's a big deal

Welcome to a Sunday edition of Progress Report.

I was told that recovery from this sixth open-heart surgery wouldn’t be linear, advanced insight that has kept me sane as I switch between some days when I feel a bit better and others when I feel like I’d been beaten with metal pipes during the wee hours of the morning. Just what causes such a wild swing is unclear to me; it’s not as if my schedule changes much from day to day, but I’ll accept the relatively decent days as evidence of a slow upwards trajectory, especially week-over-week.

All I really cared about was making it through this surgery — and having it work long-term, of course — so that I could spend time with my family, especially my three year old son. That’s what I’ll be doing for the next few weeks, while also plotting out new features and ideas for next year; the plan is to hit the ground running with new focuses on building policy platforms and spotlighting key candidates, both down ballot and primary challengers seeking federal office. The next phase of Progress Report should be our best yet.

Before any of that, however, I’ve got a scoop and stories to share — some news, revelations, and critical issues worth following heading into 2026. None of which will be censored by Bari Weiss as a favor to Stephen Miller.

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Exclusive: Progressives and labor allies plan to go all-in on another attempt to pass the Colorado Worker Protection Act, which would finally end the Labor Peace Act, a modified “right to work” law that has long suppressed union density in the state.

Currently, workers have to win a second election, with 75% of the vote, to have the ability to even negotiate “union security,” or the right to collect minimal representation dues from everyone covered by the contract. Democrats passed the bill earlier this year, only for Gov. Jared Polis, an ultra-wealthy libertarian at heart, to follow through on his veto threat.

Sources tell me that 2026’s iteration of the bill will have minor clarifications, mostly to combat misinformation about how it’d impact union negotiations. Polis, if he’s considering a run for president, may want to think twice about vetoing it once again, especially after angering progressives with a failed attempt to insulate big tech from new regulations; if nothing else, the bill will be a litmus test for Democrats hoping to succeed Polis in the governor’s mansion.

Shortly after Polis issued his veto, Colorado AG Phil Weiser, one of the two leading Democratic gubernatorial candidates, gave a qualified endorsement of the bill, or at least its larger philosophical goal… kind of.

“I believe we’ve got to change the Labor Peace Act to address some of the antiquated requirements it has, and I believe the way to do that is with the process of having rigorous engagement, working together,” Weiser said. “That process this year came really close. The process, if it’s left to me, is one that I will bring to a conclusion to change this law.”

Weiser’s main rival for the gubernatorial nomination, Sen. Michael Bennet, has not commented on the proposal. And though it’s true that Bennet was a co-sponsor of the pro-labor PRO Act at the federal level, that support meant little when it had zero chance of passing the Senate.

Texas: Democrats will have someone on the ballot in every Texas state and federal election in 2026, marking the first time in modern history that the Texas Democratic Party has run a full slate of candidates in modern history.

Mississippi: 16-term Rep. Bennie Thompson is facing a primary challenge from a progressive attorney who was one-year-old when the incumbent was first elected.

Evan Turnage, a 33-year-old lawyer who worked for both Sens. Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren, argues that Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional district, based around Jackson, “needs real plans for real change.” A Yale classmate of former FTC Chair Lina Khan, Turnage is pitching anti-trust and consumer protections to working class voters who increasingly resent the power of major corporations.

Voting Rights: The wild card here is that Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District could be obliterated by a harsh Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais, the latest conservative legal attempt to dismantle what remains of the Voting Rights Act.

A worst-case scenario decision would be a disaster for democracy and Democrats in Congress, and exponentially worse on the state level: according to a new study, Republicans could gain nearly 200 state legislative seats if the VRA is eviscerated and GOP lawmakers are permitted to obliterate districts drawn to be majority-minority.

Not so fast: Some good news out of Montana, where an initiative that would keep judicial elections non-partisan was given the green light by the state Supreme Court. Sponsors had sued Montana AG Austin Knudsen, who attempted to rewrite the initiative with misleading language, one of many tricks he employs in service of crushing pro-democracy initiatives.

Illegal: Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins is attempting to move forward with a new gerrymandered Congressional map, defying state law that requires the map to be put aside now that that activists have collected enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot in November.

"It appears as though the state is working towards illegally implementing HB1,” said Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians. “This is certain to draw legal challenges from Missourians who more clearly understand their constitutional rights to having the final say than our state officials seem to. State law is clear as is our constitution, and our judiciary has reinforced this on multiple occasions. They shouldn’t have to again, but if state officials are determined to break the law and our constitution, so be it. We maintain that people, not politicians, will have the final say."

• The minimum wage will receive a boost in 22 states and Washington, DC next year, which will raise the national average to $11.51 an hour.

• Hawaii’s minimum wage will reach $16 an hour in 2026, and significantly, employers will face fines of at least $500 every time they’re caught violating the new rate. The raise is the second of three scheduled increases, with the wage set to hit $18 in 2028.

• The California Court of Appeals upheld LA’s recently passed mansion tax, a voter-approved measure that imposes a 4% tax on home sales over $5 million and a 5.5% levy on sales that top $10 million. The proceeds will go toward building affordable housing in a city with a desperate shortage.

• Conservatives in Massachusetts are pursuing a ballot initiative that would lower the state income tax, a move that would wipe out billions in state revenue. Democratic lawmakers, who dominate the legislature, are not impressed.

• A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in Michigan have introduced a bill to repeal the massive tax incentives being given to data centers built in the state. The measure is co-sponsored by Rep. Dylan Wegela, a democratic socialist, and Rep. Jim DeSana, a conservative from the rural southeast corner of the state.

• Local officials across Pennsylvania are calling for a vote on HB140, which would ban algorithmic price fixing on home rentals. The software, used by big corporate landlords to collude on rent prices, has already been banned in New York State and a number of mid-sized cities across the country.

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