Union bill repeal efforts underway, nearly 130k signatures gathered across Utah

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Protect Utah Workers initiative announced Friday that it has gathered nearly 130,000 signatures — around 10,000 short of the required amount — in its effort to repeal a controversial public labor union bill that would ban collective bargaining in the state.

While the coalition gathered nearly the number of signatures necessary in its first two weeks, coalition leaders say it is “not even close” to enough.

Bill on the ballot

After debate within the legislature and intense public backlash, H.B. 267 “Public Sector Labor Union Amendments” narrowly passed the Utah Senate on Feb. 6 and was signed by Gov. Spencer Cox on Feb. 14.

A coalition of public labor union representatives launched a signature campaign at the end of the legislative session for a referendum, which would put the bill on the ballot and leave the fate of the law to Utah voters.

In order to put the bill before voters, the coalition has to gather 140,748 signatures from registered voters statewide, with at least 8% of voters registered in 15 of the 29 senate districts. The group has until mid-April to meet the legislature’s requirements.

Jessica Bruner, the director of the Utah Public Employees Association, said there is still “a lot of hard work to do,” adding that they want to double the number of signatures they have to ensure they are well above the minimum should any of the signatures not pan out.

She said that some “well-meaning people” may have signed the petition but put an incorrect address or didn’t write legibly, making it so their signature doesn’t count.

“Although we have nearly 130,000 signatures and overwhelming support, we must keep this momentum going. We must let the voters decide what is best for Utah,” Bruner said.

She said anyone looking to get involved or find a location to sign the petition should visit the coalition’s website at ProtectUtahWorkers.com.

Senate President J. Stuart Adams told ABC4 that “referendums are part of the process.”

“I encourage voters to thoroughly research the issue at hand to make informed decisions,” Adams said.

Why collective bargaining?

Law enforcement and firefighters spoke at the Friday press conference saying the ability for public unions to collectively bargain is about representing the voice of public servants.

Kevin Murray, the president of the Utah Fraternal Order of Police, said the bill “stripped the voice of our heroes to advocate for their needs.”

“If associations are not able to voice their concerns on members’ behalf, who will look past the budgets and see the needs of officers? Without officer representation, we will move backward in history instead of forward,” Murray said.

However, supporters of H.B. 267 previously said this bill will help protect taxpayers’ dollars, restore fairness and fiscal responsibility, and help the voices of all employees, both in and out of unions, be heard.

“There are public employees that feel they don’t have the same representation as their colleagues who may be in unions. This is a taxpayer bill, this is protecting the taxpayers that are not represented in collective bargaining negotiations. That’s who this bill is for,” Sen. Kirk Cullimore previously said.

During the press conference, a Salt Lake City firefighter and union member brought up a different point, saying the ability to bargain improves safety for both first responders and the public.

“Collective bargaining isn’t just about wages or benefits, it’s about our safety, our working conditions, and delivering the best possible service that we can to the public,” said Firefighter Harrison Long.

Long said Salt Lake City firefighters used collective bargaining to negotiate safe staffing levels, meaning four firefighters now respond to emergencies as opposed to two or three.

“Unfortunately, there’s a lot of departments out there that don’t have the benefit of collective bargaining, that are running fire engines, fire trucks with two, maybe three people on it. That makes our job that much harder and our response that much less effective,” Long said.

Long said collective bargaining helps him stay safe, provide for his family, and “fulfill the oath that I made to the citizens of Salt Lake City.”

“Firefighters deserve a voice in firefighting, police officers deserve a voice in law enforcement, teachers deserve a voice in education, everyone behind me deserves a voice in their professions,” Long said. “And that’s all we’re asking for.”