Bill to ban public sector collective bargaining has one step left in the Utah Legislature

Labor union members listen from the hallway as HB267, which would prohibit collective bargaining for public sector labor unions, is discussed during a Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee meeting at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday.

Labor union members listen from the hallway as HB267, which would prohibit collective bargaining for public sector labor unions, is discussed during a Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee meeting at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. (Laura Seitz, Deseret News)


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KEY TAKEAWAYS
  • HB267, a bill banning public sector collective bargaining, advanced in Utah's Senate committee.
  • The bill faces strong opposition, with packed hearings and significant public feedback.
  • If passed, HB267 would conflict with SB168, which supports collective bargaining and labor relations.

SALT LAKE CITY — After passing through the state House, a bill that would prohibit collective bargaining for public sector labor unions was advanced through a Senate committee on Wednesday.

HB267 is sponsored by Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, and the floor sponsor is Sen. Kirk A. Cullimore, R-Draper. The bill only applies to public sector labor organizations and employees, which includes firefighters, municipal workers, police officers and teachers.

The bill was heard in the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee on Wednesday and advanced through the committee by a 4-3 vote. It will now be brought up for a vote on the Senate floor.

On Monday, the bill passed through the House with a 42-32 vote, after advancing through the House Business, Labor and Commerce committee last week.

When the bill was heard in the House committee last week, there were three full overflow rooms of people who hoped to testify. During the Senate committee hearing on Wednesday, there were four full overflow rooms as well as people packed in the hallway outside of the committee room.

Multiple representatives and senators shared with the Deseret News that they have received more feedback about this bill than any other piece of legislation this session.

Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, speaks in opposition to HB267, a bill that would prohibit collective bargaining for public sector labor unions, during a Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee meeting at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday.
Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, speaks in opposition to HB267, a bill that would prohibit collective bargaining for public sector labor unions, during a Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee meeting at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. (Photo: Laura Seitz, Deseret News)

"I worry because the amount of feedback I received on this, I have not received on any other issues in my 16 years here. I mean, you've collectively got on my entire district engaged on this," said Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City.

Another bill on the issue was also introduced in the Senate, SB168, which would enforce public sector collective bargaining.

What is the discussion around HB267?

Teuscher shared that there are nine other states where similar legislation is being introduced, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Texas.

Lauren Scholnick, an attorney in Salt Lake City who specializes in labor and employment law, shared that this bill doesn't just get rid of collective bargaining, it's broader than that. In the bill text, it says that employers can no longer recognize a labor organization as a bargaining agent.

"So this goes well beyond collective bargaining. It says that the unions and the associations cannot even engage in what is known as meet and confer, which are negotiations outside any collective bargaining situation," she said.

HB267 sponsor Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, speaks about his bill that would prohibit collective bargaining for public sector labor unions during a Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee meeting at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday.
HB267 sponsor Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, speaks about his bill that would prohibit collective bargaining for public sector labor unions during a Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee meeting at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. (Photo: Laura Seitz, Deseret News)

Many other people spoke up against the bill with concerns about negotiations, safety and transparency. Teuscher says the bill will help increase transparency from labor organizations.

But opponents rejected that assertion. "This has nothing to do with transparency and everything to do with back-breaking union leadership and unions in Utah," said Zach Jeppson, a Salt Lake City firefighter who is the current union president of Local 81.

He added that 95% of Salt Lake City firefighters are union members, and all their voices are heard, and even those who aren't union members have their voices heard.

The bill's sponsors argue that the bill is meant to make sure everyone's voice is heard.

Several people at the hearing spoke up to defend the bill, including members of the committee. Cullimore said that many of the arguments people have made against the bill don't have anything to do with it at all.

Union members gather outside after HB267, a bill that would prohibit collective bargaining for public sector labor unions, was debated and advanced through the senate committee at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday.
Union members gather outside after HB267, a bill that would prohibit collective bargaining for public sector labor unions, was debated and advanced through the senate committee at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. (Photo: Laura Seitz, Deseret News)

"Nothing in this bill would preclude the scenario of a union supporting their members," Cullimore said. "And in fact, as Rep. Teuscher said, we have unions throughout the state right now that have very high participation rates that don't make use of collective bargaining."

Teachers have also been a primary focus of the discussion around the bill, specifically related to the teachers who support their unions.

"I don't see that the unions are serving their teachers well in their salary negotiations," said Sen. Brady Brammer, R-Pleasant Grove. "What has actually worked to raise teacher salaries are direct allocations from the Legislature to teachers to the tune of $6,000."

Salt Lake City firefighter/paramedic John Maddux listens as HB267, a bill that would prohibit collective bargaining for public sector labor unions, is discussed during a Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee meeting at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday.
Salt Lake City firefighter/paramedic John Maddux listens as HB267, a bill that would prohibit collective bargaining for public sector labor unions, is discussed during a Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee meeting at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. (Photo: Laura Seitz, Deseret News)

Potential changes being made to HB267

Before the committee hearing, Cullimore said that he hopes they will find a way to get more public employees on board with the bill. He added that this might require different resolutions or changes made to the legislation.

One solution that the senator shared is rather than putting a complete prohibition on collective bargaining, if 50% or more of employees vote on a union or organization to be their representative, then that union would be allowed to participate in collective bargaining.

How does SB168 compare with HB267?

Senator David Hinkins, R-Orangeville, has introduced another bill that focuses on public employee and labor relationships with employers.

SB168 establishes a Labor Relations Board, which would oversee public employee labor relations on a state level instead of on the federal level as it is currently done.

Another thing that the bill would do is enforce collective bargaining and define how it can be used.

Sen. Brady Brammer, R-Pleasant Grove, speaks in favor of HB267, a bill that would prohibit collective bargaining for public sector labor unions, during a Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee meeting at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday.
Sen. Brady Brammer, R-Pleasant Grove, speaks in favor of HB267, a bill that would prohibit collective bargaining for public sector labor unions, during a Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee meeting at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. (Photo: Laura Seitz, Deseret News)

Hinkins said his bill and the provisions it allows would help to create a stabilized workforce.

"So this way you negotiate, everybody gets, pretty much whatever they're doing, they get paid for it," Hinkins said. "That's a stabilized workforce."

According to both Hinkins and Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, HB267 and SB168 are essentially opposites to each other.

"Well, they run head on to each other," Cullimore said. So, if HB267 does pass through the Senate, it will essentially kill SB168.

Hinkins also said his bill would help support public educators around the state, and because labor organizations would have to report to the state labor relations board, it would increase transparency as well.

Labor union members, Steve Perry of  IBEW 354, left, and Doug Underwood of ATU Local 382, listen from the hallway as HB267, a bill that would prohibit collective bargaining for public sector labor unions, is discussed during a Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee meeting at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday.
Labor union members, Steve Perry of IBEW 354, left, and Doug Underwood of ATU Local 382, listen from the hallway as HB267, a bill that would prohibit collective bargaining for public sector labor unions, is discussed during a Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee meeting at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. (Photo: Laura Seitz, Deseret News)

What would HB267 do?

HB267 would prohibit public sector collective bargaining. Teuscher explained that collective bargaining is when an employer and a union come together to negotiate a contract for employees.

"In most of those collective bargaining agreements, it spells out specifically that the union representation is the sole collective bargaining agent, meaning that the public employer is not able to negotiate with anyone else, other than union representatives," said Teuscher.

According to Teuscher, the bill would safeguard 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, and to report annually to the labor commission the number of members they have and the money they spend.

The bill also provides professional liability insurance that teachers would be able to opt into.

If passed, the bill would go into effect on July 1.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

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Caitlin Keith, Deseret NewsCaitlin Keith
Caitlin is a trending intern for Deseret News. She covers travel, entertainment and other trending topics.

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