Colorado workers and internet service providers lock horns over BEAD labor bill

Are federal labor protections for broadband workers strong enough, or should state lawmakers intervene to give them a boost? That question is at the heart of a fiery debate raging in Colorado’s state house over a piece of proposed legislation that would codify additional rights for broadband workers. If passed, the bill would mandate that any company using federal or state money for broadband projects of over $500,000 would have to pay workers prevailing wages. Brandy Reitter, Executive Director of the Colorado Broadband Office, contended that the state’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) proposal already includes “significant labor requirements.” The provisions in the House bill go “above and beyond the BEAD notice of funding opportunity,” Reitter continued, and could “have a chilling effect on our BEAD program to deter any providers from applying altogether.” Hilltop Broadband CEO Eric McCluskey noted that in the face of labor shortage challenges, his company has “consistently” offered competitive wages and benefits to employees, including employer-funded health care, and that the passage of the bill would exacerbate recruitment and retention issues.