Signature gathering effort against HB267 is in full swing across the state

In the past few weeks signature gatherers have been everywhere — in parks, outside grocery stores and even knocking on doors — working to get as many signatures as possible for a referendum against a law dealing with public labor unions.

A group of public labor unions has come together to form the Protect Utah Workers coalition in an effort to get a referendum on the ballot to repeal the law which bans public sector collective bargaining.

HB267, sponsored by Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, was passed through the state Legislature this year and was one of the first bills signed by Gov. Spencer Cox. It was also one of the most controversial bills of the session with hundreds of public employees regularly coming to the Capitol in opposition to the bill.

“Well, obviously, we’re going to fight for our existence and our right to represent public employees in the state of Utah,” said Britt Miller, the president of Teamsters Local 222.

As soon as the legislative session ended, the coalition filed the application for a referendum against the law which will go into effect in May. The group then began a statewide signature gathering effort comprising of both volunteers and paid signature gatherers.

Protect Utah Workers includes 19 public labor unions such as the Utah Education Association, Teamsters Local 222, Utah State Fraternal Order of Police, Professional Firefighters of Utah and Utah Public Employees Association.

“Referendums are part of the process. I encourage voters to thoroughly research the issue at hand to make informed decisions,” said Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, in a statement to the Deseret News.

What does the signature gathering effort look like?

Protect Utah Workers kicked off their signature gathering effort on March 15, and since then have consistently had signature gatherers collecting signatures all across the state.

The group has held specific signature gathering events where registered voters can come and sign. Signature gatherers have also been out in public places, such as grocery stores and parks, everyday asking for signatures. Some gatherers have also been going through neighborhoods knocking on doors.

One recent signature gathering event was hosted by firefighters with the Salt Lake City Local 81 union on March 26 at Publik Coffee.

Harrison Long, one of these firefighters who was gathering signatures, said that they were doing it because “we believe that firefighters should have a voice in firefighting.”

During the event at Publik Coffee, one signer, Alexa Jeffrey, shared that she was signing because she is a strong believer in workers’ rights.

Signature gatherers have also been at major events such as Utah Hockey Club and Utah Jazz games, as well as Salt Lake City’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. Miller said that they have worked to coordinate “to make sure that we’ve got somebody going to everything and not having everybody go to one thing.”

The group’s deadline to submit signatures is April 16. After the signatures are submitted, opponents to the referendum will have 45 days to try and convince those who signed to remove their signatures.

By the end of the process, the coalition will need to have 140,748 valid signatures, in order for the referendum to get on the ballot. The number of signatures collected has to represent 8% of active voters statewide, as well as 8% of registered voters in 15 of Utah’s 29 Senate districts.

Not only can signatures be removed but all the signatures need to be certified. There are a number of reasons why signatures may not get certified: Signers may not be registered to vote, they may have written their address wrong, filled out the form incorrectly or their handwriting may be illegible.

For this reason the coalition is shooting to gather a lot more signatures than necessary, with a goal of 200,000. Two weeks into the signature gathering effort, Protect Utah Workers said it has collected 130,000 signatures.

“If there’s one group that’s going to be able to land those numbers, it’s going to be the unions, because, like I said, we’re everywhere,” Miller said. “There are public employees in every city, county, state office, and we are everywhere.”

Why do public unions want HB267 repealed?

“The Utah Legislature took away the rights of public workers—teachers, firefighters, nurses, and police—to collectively bargain for fair wages, benefits, and working conditions. The HB267 referendum challenges the unfair law and allows voters to decide what’s best for Utah,” reads a statement on the Protect Utah Workers website.

Though HB267 does multiple other things, the opposition against it focuses primarily on the collective bargaining ban. People see the law as an attack on public employees and say that it takes away the voice of public workers.

Collective bargaining is when an employer and a union come together to negotiate a contract for employees.

“We just want a say in our own professions, that’s it. We’re not asking for anything more there,” Long said. He added that 90% of Salt Lake City firefighters are members of the union.

Not all public unions across the state represent a majority of employees and many unions in Utah do not engage in collective bargaining.

Miller said that the legislature ignored their constituents by passing this bill so now they are going directly to the public to give them a direct voice in the matter.

This is not the first time that public labor unions in Utah have come together. Miller shared that for about five years, a group of labor unions in Utah has met together to discuss bills such as HB267 that might hurt the unions and union members.

What is the argument in favor of HB267?

While the opposition against HB267 has been very outspoken, there are many people in the state who support the law.

Cole Kelley, who has been a teacher in Utah for 28 years and is a member of the Utah State Board of Education, said that he struggles with the fact that only the union’s voices are being heard in the negotiating process, even if the union doesn’t represent all the teachers in the district.

Founder and president of Utah Parents United, Corinne Johnson said HB267 fixes many issues she’s seen because it restores the teachers’ and parents’ voices as the strongest voices in education.

“We’re not saying get rid of unions,” Johnson said. “They have their place, and teachers deserve to have a voice, and if they choose to join the UEA, absolutely, that is their right, and they can have right. They have a right to associate, and they have a right to that voice.”

Johnson pointed out that multiple districts around the state only collective bargain if the union has 50% of the employees as members.

People in favor of HB267 believe some of the unions have too much power and influence and are more worried about protecting themselves than actually looking out for public employees.

Johnson’s organization, Utah Parents United, has launched multiple campaigns against the referendum and in support of HB267. One of the organization’s goals is to help people be more educated on the issue.

“We educate people to think twice before they before they sign the referendum,” Johnson said. “Because there’s polling data that shows that when parents understand this issue, the majority of parents do support what is in the legislation.”

The bill deals with more than just collective bargaining

Along with the ban on collective bargaining, the law will provide an option of professional liability insurance for teachers to opt into, without having to go through a union or other organization.

The liability insurance program would be offered through the Department of Risk Management, with five levels of policies teachers can choose from, ranging from $75 to $170 a year.

Kelley said that when the insurance policy is through the union, then the union owns that policy and gets to decide when and if to file a claim.

The law also puts safeguards on public resources by prohibiting employees from receiving paid leave for union activities. It also requires unions to pay to use spaces that other groups have to pay for.

The bill also requires more transparency from public sector unions, requiring them to report their finances and membership numbers annually to the labor commission.

“This transparency is huge, the best disinfectant is sunlight, right?” Johnson said.

Long said that his union is already operating a transparent way and that he hasn’t heard any concerns around transparency issues with unions.

“This seems like a solution in search of a problem,” he said.