economic opportunity

The Skills for Jobs Act

House Bill 12-1061

Testimony to the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee
Frank Waterous, Senior Policy Analyst
March 5, 2012

My name is Frank Waterous, and I am a senior policy analyst with the Bell Policy Center. The Bell is a non-partisan, non-profit research and policy organization, founded on progressive values and dedicated to expanding opportunity for all Coloradans.

Testimony to the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee

My name is Rich Jones and I am director of policy and research for the Bell Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank and advocacy organization. I am speaking today in support of HB09-1064, to create the Economic Opportunity Poverty Reduction Task Force to study poverty issues and develop a comprehensive plan to expand economic opportunities in Colorado.

Unionization significantly raises the wages of low- and middle-income workers in Colorado, according to a national study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) in Washington, DC, and released today in conjunction with Colorado’s Bell Policy Center. The benefit of unionization is greatest for low-wage workers.