As lawmakers discuss a potential repeal-and-replace of the ban on collective bargaining for public employee unions, labor coalitions say voters should decide.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Union supporters gather during a protest against HB267, a bill that limits collective bargaining for public unions, at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025.
A coalition of labor groups say they want to let voters decide the fate of a law targeting public employee unions and they will “hold the line” against any attempts by lawmakers to repeal and replace the controversial law and avoid a voter referendum to repeal the bill next year.
The announcement Wednesday by the Protect Utah Workers coalition comes after weeks of meetings between union leaders and Republican lawmakers in an attempt to resolve the dispute and make the referendum moot.
“If lawmakers doubt where Utah stands, they should read the numbers,” said Jerry Philpot, president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1004 and an airport employee.
“The public is on the side of educators, firefighters, police officers, nurses, airport workers, state chemists, librarians, plow drivers, public health workers, custodial staff, transit workers and every public worker who keeps our state running,” he said.
This past legislative session, Republican lawmakers passed HB267, prohibiting public employee unions from negotiating contracts with their government employers.
Gov. Spencer Cox signed the bill into law. But the Republican governor said later that, from the beginning, he didn’t like the bill. “It wasn’t something I was interested in,” Cox said, “not something I would run.”
Labor groups, backed with financial support primarily from the National Education Association, rallied to gather more than a quarter million valid signatures, a record in the state, in just 30 days to put a question on the 2026 ballot letting voters decide if they want to repeal the law.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Union members and supporters listen to Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan speak about his labor union bill to the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025.
The ban on collective bargaining is on hold until after the election is decided.
Now, with a special legislative session anticipated next month so the Legislature can extend an emergency fire declaration issue by Cox, the labor coalition said it will resist any replacement legislation, and the only outcome it would accept before the 2026 election would be full repeal.
The sponsor of the legislation, Rep. Jordan Teuscher, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In June, Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore, who was the Senate sponsor of the bill, said his personal preference would be to repeal the law and pass new legislation addressing some of the other, less controversial pieces that were in the bill that, he said, have broader public support.