The Work You Don’t See

A Statement from the Pueblo Association of Government Employees

The Systems Nobody Sees

Pueblo, we need to speak plainly.

The vote this week was not just a policy decision. It was a reflection of how our city chooses to value the people who make it run. And for the general service workers of Pueblo, the message was unmistakable:

We were ignored.

There is no next step for us.
No appeal.
No arbitration.
No second chance to be heard.

The ballot measure failed, and with it, the chance for Pueblo’s unseen workers to be given the same dignity, stability, and fairness already provided to other city unions.

We respect our police. We respect our firefighters. They do difficult, important work. They earned their rights.

But so have we.

If Pueblo is a vehicle:

• Police and fire are the engine and transmission - visible and powerful.

• We are the electrical wiring, the hoses, the coolant, the sensors, the fuel lines - the things no one thinks about until the entire vehicle comes to a halt.

You see firefighters when there is a fire.
You see police when there is danger.
But you don’t see us when:

• The sewer system works because someone was in a trench at 3:00 AM in freezing weather.

• The water runs clean because technicians stayed late to prevent a treatment malfunction.

• Your streetlights come on each night because an electrician repaired a failing circuit on the south side.

• Your parks are clean because workers with worn knees and tired backs care more than they are ever credited for.

• Your tax payments, business permits, records, payroll systems, and city finances function because clerks and secretaries keep the city’s lifeblood in motion.

These things do not happen by accident.

They happen because people - real people - dedicate their lives to making this city livable.

And this week, those workers learned that much of Pueblo does not see them.
Not really.

We are not asking to be thanked.

We are not asking to be called heroes.

We are not asking for parades.

We were asking simply for the same right to fairness in negotiations that other public employees already have.

Not more than them.

Not above them.

Just equal.

We Are Not Equal!

For a city that proudly calls itself a union town, the vote told a vastly different story.

One where some unions are “worthy” - while others are expected to stay quiet, unseen, and grateful for whatever pittance they’re offered.

That is a hard truth to carry.

But carry it we will - because we always do.

We will keep the water clean.

We will keep the lights functioning.

We will keep the paper work flowing.

We always have.
We always will.

All we ask is that the next time Pueblo talks about being a city built on solidarity - that we remember solidarity means everyone.

Even those you don’t see.

In service and in disappointment,

Members, Pueblo Association of Government Employees