2026 Primary Election Endorsements
The Denver Area Labor Federation (DALF) represents over 80,000 working Coloradans, through over 114 affiliated unions. Our membership is diverse and includes everyone from teachers, firefighters, and home care workers to electricians and aerospace workers. We come together as the Denver Area Labor Federation because we believe in one simple idea: when working people stand together, we can create positive changes for everyone.
DALF votes to endorse candidates based on how they will impact not only our unions, but all working people in the Denver Area. We carefully consider how each candidate will help us fight for a more equal and secure economy where working people can build power, ensure economic justice for themselves and their families, and combat the influence of corporations and wealthy elites.
Voting is our chance as working people to support those who support us. Who you vote for is your personal decision, but we hope that you will take DALF’s endorsements into consideration as you fill out your ballot.
AS OF April 24th, 2026, THE DENVER AREA LABOR FEDERATION HAS ENDORSED THE FOLLOWING COUNTY CANDIDATES:
ADAMS COUNTY
Assessor: Thomas Swingle
Clerk & Recorder: Josh Zygielbaum
Commissioner District 3: Emma Pinter
Treasurer: Jason Anaya-Ledeboer
ARAPAHOE COUNTY
Assessor: PK Kaiser
Clerk & Recorder: Joan Lopez
Commissioner District 2: Jessica Campbell
Commissioner District 4: Leslie Summey
Sheriff: Tyler Brown
Treasurer: Michael Westerberg
DOUGLAS COUNTY
Assessor: Kara Garr
Commissioner District 1: Irene Bonham
JEFFERSON COUNTY
Assessor: Andy Kerr
Clerk & Recorder: Nicole Hensel
Commissioner District 3: Lisa Cutter
Coroner: Nick Lobello
Treasurer: Eric Proctor
AFL-CIO Calls on Trump to Resign or Be Removed from Office 'at Once'
2026 Primary Election Endorsements
AFL-CIO Calls on Trump to Resign or Be Removed from Office 'at Once'
The AFL-CIO called on President Trump to resign or be removed from office “at once, whether through impeachment or the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” following the riots at the U.S. Capitol this week. The labor group’s general board released the statement Friday, saying it is not one
Read More > AFL-CIO Calls on Trump to Resign or Be Removed from Office 'at Once'
Trumka Says Walsh Will Be 'Exceptional' Labor Secretary
2026 Primary Election Endorsements
Trumka Says Walsh Will Be 'Exceptional' Labor Secretary
The president of the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest federation of unions, praised President-elect Joe Biden’s nomination of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh (D) for secretary of Labor, calling the mayor an “exceptional” choice. “Boston Mayor Marty Walsh will be an exceptional Labor secretary for the same
Read More > Trumka Says Walsh Will Be 'Exceptional' Labor Secretary
Trumka Calls Trump Protest ‘One of the Greatest Assaults on Our Democracy Since the Civil War’
2026 Primary Election Endorsements
Trumka Calls Trump Protest ‘One of the Greatest Assaults on Our Democracy Since the Civil War’
Prominent union leaders of the AFL-CIO and United Auto Workers are publicly condemning President Donald Trump’s supporters for storming the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called it “one of the greatest assaults on our democracy since the Civil War.” Read the full article
Read More > Trumka Calls Trump Protest ‘One of the Greatest Assaults on Our Democracy Since the Civil War’
A New Labor Department Rule Would Classify Gig Workers as Contractors
2026 Primary Election Endorsements
A New Labor Department Rule Would Classify Gig Workers as Contractors
The Labor Department on Wednesday released the final version of a rule that could classify millions of workers in industries like construction, cleaning and the gig economy as contractors rather than employees, another step under the Trump administration toward endorsing the business practices of
Read More > A New Labor Department Rule Would Classify Gig Workers as Contractors
BLS: On-the-job Deaths Reach Highest Level in 12 years
2026 Primary Election Endorsements
BLS: On-the-job Deaths Reach Highest Level in 12 years
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said: “Instead of increasing lifesaving measures aimed at protecting working people at our workplaces, the Trump administration consistently rolled back existing safety and health rules and has failed to move forward on any new safety and health protections. We look
Read More > BLS: On-the-job Deaths Reach Highest Level in 12 years
TWU Member Pursues Urban Planning Degree with Help of Union Plus Scholarship
2026 Primary Election Endorsements
TWU Member Pursues Urban Planning Degree with Help of Union Plus Scholarship
This past fall, Transport Workers Union (TWU) member Gregory Harasym began a master’s program in city and regional planning with a concentration in transportation. He intends to examine alternative transportation methods to address community-level health and social injustices; and he hopes to
Read More > TWU Member Pursues Urban Planning Degree with Help of Union Plus Scholarship
Industry Groups, Unions Hail Buttigieg Pick for Transportation Secretary
2026 Primary Election Endorsements
Industry Groups, Unions Hail Buttigieg Pick for Transportation Secretary
Transportation industry groups and unions were quick to applaud the selection of Pete Buttigieg as President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Department of Transportation. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., ran in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary and dropped out in March
Read More > Industry Groups, Unions Hail Buttigieg Pick for Transportation Secretary
AFL-CIO Praises Biden Trade Pick Tai as 'Worker Champion'
2026 Primary Election Endorsements
AFL-CIO Praises Biden Trade Pick Tai as 'Worker Champion'
“Katherine Tai’s nomination signals a stark departure from the failed practices of the past.” Tai played a key role in shaping the United States Mexico Canada Agreement — which the AFL-CIO endorsed — as the top trade counsel for the House Ways and Means committee, and previously headed the USTR
Read More > AFL-CIO Praises Biden Trade Pick Tai as 'Worker Champion'
IAFF Member Puts Union Plus Scholarship Toward Mental Health Degree
2026 Primary Election Endorsements
IAFF Member Puts Union Plus Scholarship Toward Mental Health Degree
Tony Lein, a member of the Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 95 in Chicago, is among the 2020 Union Plus Scholarship award winners. He is a firefighter/paramedic and peer fitness trainer with the Oak Park [Illinois] Fire Department, where he has worked since 2015. He also teaches American Heart Association
Read More > IAFF Member Puts Union Plus Scholarship Toward Mental Health Degree
A Blueprint to Safely Open Schools
2026 Primary Election Endorsements
A Blueprint to Safely Open Schools
The United States has the sad distinction of having the most confirmed coronavirus cases and death in the world, which has kept many schools shuttered for instruction in person. Parents and educators know that our children do best at schools, where they can get support, and they worry that the lack
Read More > A Blueprint to Safely Open Schools
Larry Willis, head of federation of Transportation Workers, Dies in Bike Accident
2026 Primary Election Endorsements
Larry Willis, head of federation of Transportation Workers, Dies in Bike Accident
Larry Willis’s colleagues liked to joke that he kept a copy of the Railway Labor Act, passed a few years before the Great Depression, under his pillow. “He loved the wonk,” said his wife, Amy York. “He could explain things in a way that normal people could understand.” Willis spent decades immersed
Read More > Larry Willis, head of federation of Transportation Workers, Dies in Bike Accident
Millions of workers poised to lose access to paid leave as virus spikes
2026 Primary Election Endorsements
Millions of workers poised to lose access to paid leave as virus spikes
“It’s absolutely essential,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in an interview. “If you tell a worker, ‘Don’t come to work when you’re sick so you don’t spread Covid, but you’re not going to get paid and your family’s not going to eat and you’re not going to pay your rent,’ you’re asking too
Read More > Millions of workers poised to lose access to paid leave as virus spikes