You might have picked a bad example.
I don't know about Colorado, but the prison workers unions here in California are very tight with the California government, and much more state money than is probably appropriate has ended up flowing in that direction. At least here, some correction (no pun intended) is long overdue.
That government union members are against private competition has been old news for a generation now. The idea that private enterprise is somehow more prone to corruption and other faults than a government organization does not stand very close examination.