About Us

We are one of nearly 500 state and local labor councils of the AFL-CIO and are the heart of the labor movement. We are democratically elected bodies dedicated to represent the interests of working people at the state and local level. We mobilize our members and community partners to advocate for social and economic justice and we strive daily to vanquish oppression and make our communities better for all people—regardless of race, color, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, or ethnic or national origin.  We work together to gain strength by planning and working with local unions whose members live or work within BALC's  6-county area: Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Summit, Lake and Gilpin counties.

The council's mission is to help working families with wage, benefit and working condition and broad working family issues. This is done through coordinating the efforts of local union members in educating each other, the public, and our representatives in government regarding issues vital to working families.

Our organization dates back to around 1870. When we co-founded, as the Louisville Labor Council, the first State Federation of Labor in 1886 we were already recognizing that only by “Being at the Table” could workers avoid “Being on the Menu.” The Federation was founded by four local Area Labor Councils (ALCs): Trinidad, Pueblo, Louisville and Denver.

Each of these ALCs was formed over the prior 20 years as union organizing was meeting fierce resistance from corporate plutocrats in Colorado. In succeeding years, the Louisville Labor Council became the Boulder County Labor Council which morphed into the Boulder Area Labor Council in the 1990s. We have a proud history of more than 140 years working to improve Working Families lives.