Coalition of public employees will try to overturn controversial union bill through referendum

Hundreds of teachers gather at the Utah State Capitol to protest a bill that strips public unions of their ability to collectively bargain on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (Kyle Dunphey/Utah News Dispatch)

A coalition of teachers, police officers, nurses and other public employees will attempt to overturn a controversial bill signed by the governor last month that will ban Utah’s public labor unions from collective bargaining. 

On Wednesday, the coalition — called Protect Utah Workers — announced its intent to file an application for a referendum that seeks to overturn HB267, which Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed on Feb. 14. The bill takes effect July 1.

Sponsored by Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, and Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore, R-Sandy, HB267 bans public unions — which represent teachers, police officers, firefighters, municipal workers and other public employees — from collective bargaining, the process where unions meet with employers to negotiate terms of employment. 

The sponsors say the bill was meant to protect taxpayer dollars while giving all public employees a voice, not just union members. Labor advocates were staunchly opposed, worried it takes away public employees’ ability to negotiate and could lead to unsafe working conditions and stagnant wages. 

Thousands of people signed petitions, joined protests and spoke during committee meetings against the bill. But on Feb. 6, the Senate narrowly gave it final passage after a 16-13 vote. 

“The Legislature did not listen to their constituents when it came to HB267. There was overwhelming opposition to this bill and they went ahead and it was passed anyway,” said Brad Asay, president of AFT Utah, which represents faculty and staff in public and higher education. “Our next choice is to do a referendum so we can give the people of Utah a choice.” 

Per Utah code, a citizen-led ballot referendum can overturn a bill as long as the bill received less than two-thirds support in both the House and Senate. HB267, which received bipartisan opposition, did not pass with a two-thirds majority. 

A referendum’s sponsors need to collect signatures from 8% of the state’s total active voters, and in 15 of Utah’s 29 Senate districts. The signature packets need to be submitted to the Utah Lt. Governor’s Office at least 30 days after the first signature is collected, or 40 days after the legislative session ends. 

The Utah Education Association, a union that represents 18,000 educators in the state, is shooting to gather 141,000 signatures. 

The lieutenant governor’s office will then verify the signatures — assuming the coalition follows state code, ballot language will be crafted for the next general election, where voters will decide whether or not to overturn HB267. 

It’s a difficult process that requires immense organizing. Referendums often fail, including a 2023 attempt where voters tried to repeal the law that created Utah’s new state flag but didn’t collect enough signatures. 

But the coalition is confident it has the support. The Utah Education Association has done this before, overturning an education voucher program in 2007 through a referendum that received 60% support. 

“We have volunteers and people are just chomping at the bit. I can’t tell you how many people have reached out to me,” said Renee Pinkney, president of the association. “We had a lot of people who opposed HB267, we had a lot of our members who were calling for a referendum and this is the next step in the process.” 

Polling from RABA Research — a bipartisan polling firm founded in 2016 whose name stands for “red America, blue America” — found that about 80% of respondents opposed HB267, while 78% were hoping Cox would veto it.

The coalition plans to officially apply for a referendum on Monday.