With deadline looming, labor advocates cautiously optimistic about effort to repeal union bill

With the deadline fast approaching to gather enough signatures to qualify for a ballot referendum, the coalition of Utah labor groups trying to overturn a controversial union bill is feeling optimistic. 

Since March 15, the Protect Utah Workers coalition, which consists of teacher, firefighter, police and other unions, both in the public and private sector, has been gathering signatures around the state in hopes to qualify for a referendum that could ultimately overturn HB267.

The final day to sign in support of the referendum is Tuesday, April 15 — by Wednesday, the coalition plans on delivering the signature packets to county clerks.

“We’re feeling really optimistic. We’re going to get this, and we’ll be ready to go next Wednesday, when everything gets turned in,” said Brad Asay, Utah president of the American Federation of Teachers. “We’re right on track.” 

Passed by lawmakers earlier this winter and signed by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Valentine’s Day, HB267 prevents public unions from collective bargaining, the process where unions meet with employers to negotiate terms of employment. 

That means a teachers union, for example, can no longer negotiate an employment contract with a school district. The same goes for firefighters, police officers, municipal workers and other public employees. The bill takes effect July 1, 2025. 

The bill sponsors, Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, and Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore, R-Sandy, say HB267 is meant to protect taxpayer dollars while giving all public employees a voice, not just union members. 

But labor groups and members of the public were staunchly opposed to the bill, which narrowly passed out of the Legislature. That opposition morphed into an effort to gather enough signatures to trigger a referendum, a process where citizens can vote on new laws, or repeal existing ones, during elections. 

The coalition has roughly 5,000 union members and volunteers that for the last month have been around the state gathering signatures. 

“We have had a lot of momentum going into this,” said Renée Pinkney, president of the Utah Education Association, a teachers union that represents about 18,000 educators. “The scale, we anticipate, is going to be growing day by day as we get closer to the turn-in date, and we’re cautiously optimistic that this is going to be a huge success.” 

Sen. Mike Lee proposes a public union bill similar to the law passed by Utah this year

The process to qualify for a citizen-led ballot referendum is difficult. Of the 26 states that allow them, Utah has some of the steepest requirements for a referendum, requiring signatures from at least 8% of the state’s voters in 30 days. In addition, the law requires signatures from 8% of voters in at least 15 of the state’s 29 Senate districts. 

The signature packets are then handed over to the county clerks — once clerks have verified the voter registration of the signees, the lieutenant governor’s office will review the process. Assuming the coalition has complied with state code and gathered enough valid signatures, ballot language will be crafted for the 2026 General Election. 

“We believe it’s difficult by design, because legislators don’t want the referendum process to be easy,” said Pinkney, pointing to requirements like specific margins for the signature packets, or the number of staples used in each packet. 

Currently, 8% of the state’s voters equates to roughly 141,000 signatures. In late March, the coalition held a news conference at the Utah Capitol announcing they had 130,000 signatures. 

But it’s unlikely all of those signatures are valid — some people may have signed twice, or aren’t registered to vote. Others may have given an incorrect address, or have illegible handwriting. So the coalition is trying to go above and beyond that 141,000 threshold. 

“The more signatures you get, the better cushion there is,” said Asay. 

The coalition has been trying to gather signatures around the state. Volunteers have been at coffee shops, grocery stores, college campuses, congressional town halls, bus stops, tattoo parlors, TRAX stations, sporting events and protests.

“The numbers change literally hour by hour, because we have so many people returning packets,” said Pinkney, who likely won’t know exactly how many signatures the coalition has gathered until the lieutenant governor’s office informs the coalition.  

During the legislative session, the opposition to the bill was diverse, with firefighters, police officers, teachers, steelworkers, electricians, flight attendants, municipal workers, plumbers, delivery drivers and more, all speaking out against HB267. 

Now, as advocates gather signatures around the state, they’re seeing a similar turnout.  

“It’s been across the board. We’ve had people from across the aisle, we’ve had conservatives, we’ve had progressives, we’ve had people that just do not like what the Legislature did,” said Asay. “What we’re seeing is a lot of people that are upset at the Legislature because they feel like they don’t have a voice. That’s been the theme.” 

Though controversial among labor groups, HB267 was supported by a number of conservative advocacy and policy groups — that includes Americans for Prosperity, which kicked off its “Decline to Sign” campaign last month. 

The group says the labor coalition has been spreading misinformation related to HB267 and is urging Utahns not to throw their signatures behind the effort. The campaign includes radio and digital advertisements with a simple message: “Don’t sign the referendum — stand for accountability!”  

“The messaging that they need these collective bargaining rights when so many are already not using it, is just fundamentally wrong,” said Americans for Prosperity-Utah state director Kevin Greene in an interview last month, pointing to other school districts, fire and police departments, and municipalities that don’t collectively bargain and haven’t seen stagnant wages or unsafe work environments.