Rally fills Utah Capitol building, urges Gov. Cox to veto controversial union bill

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Utah’s largest teacher union hosted a rally at the Capitol Building Friday urging Gov. Spencer Cox to veto a controversial bill barring public labor unions from collective bargaining.

Hundreds of public employees — including firefighters and teachers — piled into the Utah Capitol Building rotunda, calling on the governor to veto H.B. 267 “Public Sector Labor Union Amendments.”

If signed, the bill would strip unionized public employees of the ability to use collective bargaining during contract negotiations.

The rally, organized by the Utah

Education Association, is just the latest in a series of public displays aimed at stopping legislators and state leaders from moving the bill along.

Due to intense public pushback, the senate sponsor of the bill teased a compromise last week that would allow unions to bargain if a simple majority of the employee class votes in favor of the labor union representing them in the negotiations.

However, the sponsor later rescinded the proposed changes in favor of the original provisions. Just yesterday, that version of the bill was passed with 16 votes for and 13 against it, narrowly crossing the 15-vote requirement to move forward. The bill will now head to Gov. Cox to sign.

Picketers are urging the governor to veto the bill, saying the legislature is not accurately representing the needs of the people. If the governor chooses to veto the bill, the Senate can still block the motion. However, there would need to be 20 votes in favor of blocking the veto and only 16 senators originally voted to pass the bill.

The Utah Education Association (UEA) released a statement after the bill passed the Senate saying it “is deeply disappointed.”

“[The bill] now heads to Governor Spencer Cox, and we strongly urge him to veto this harmful legislation. Governor Cox has repeatedly stated that he is a proud supporter of teachers and public educators—this is his chance to prove it,” the statement read.