Despite vocal opposition from hundreds — even thousands — of Utahns, state lawmakers stripped teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public employees of their ability to collectively bargain through union representation.
HB267 narrowly passed the Senate on Feb. 6 by a 16-13 vote, with seven Republicans joining all Democrats against it. This is the original version of the bill that cleared the House — no substitutions. It now goes to Gov. Spencer Cox.
House Democrats and the Utah Education Association want Cox to veto the legislation, but top Senate leaders have said they don’t think he will.
Governor Cox has repeatedly stated that he is a proud supporter of teachers and public educators—this is his chance to show up for teachers. pic.twitter.com/qrTG23YybP
— Utah Education Association (@myuea) February 6, 2025
“Despite hearing from thousands of public-sector workers and supporters, the majority of Utah lawmakers refused to hear us,” the state’s largest teachers union said in a statement. “Instead, they chose to pass this highly unpopular and unnecessary legislation that undermines the rights of educators and other public employees across the state.”
Educators, uniformed firefighters, University of Utah nurses in scrubs and other public employees have spent the last two weeks coming to the capitol every day to show their opposition. Some used their vacation time and others have been able to use time outside of their full-time shifts.
On Thursday, dozens sat in the Senate gallery looking anxious and frustrated as lawmakers debated the bill. When they finally voted, some cried.
Shykell Ledford, a member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees that represents Salt Lake County workers, tearfully left the Senate chambers and hugged her fellow union members.
“I'm in shock, honestly,” Ledford said. “No employer asked for this bill, so I don't know why it was brought up.”
When asked, the bill’s Senate sponsor, Republican Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore, couldn’t name an employer that wanted the collective bargaining ban. He called it a “preemptive” move to maintain political balance.
The bill had previously stalled while labor unions considered a deal from Cullimore that would’ve allowed collective bargaining if a majority of employees, not just union members, voted for union representation. A recertification vote would have been required every five years. Cullimore told his colleagues that while it wasn’t his favorite option, he hoped it could appease the unions and in return he wanted the groups to take a neutral stance. He told reporters he hoped to have a press conference to literally demonstrate unions’ support.
A similar proposal was floated during the 2024 legislative session, but it was also met with strong union opposition and ultimately died. That bill, like the ban that lawmakers just passed, was also sponsored by Republican Rep. Jordan Teuscher.
A week after announcing what he saw as a “compromise,” Cullimore and some other lawmakers were frustrated that not all unions and their members had gotten on board. He said unions had to go neutral to get the softer substitute version of the bill.
“It felt like we were really close, which is why I represented that,” Cullimore told his colleagues Thursday. “Now I have to come to you and apologize that we did not get there.”
Without broad consensus, the Majority Leader wanted to move forward with a full ban, which is the policy he said most of his colleagues wanted. While Cullimore had published another substitute that would still ban collective bargaining but had some technical fixes, he told reporters he stuck with the original version to get things done quickly and not have to send the bill back to the House.
Cullimore and other lawmakers blamed the unions for the opposition to his proposal and accused the unions of not accurately communicating with their members.
One of the main arguments from lawmakers in support of the bill is that non-union public employees are left out of the collective bargaining process and don’t have their needs met. Lawmakers characterized public labor unions as bullies and combative, and that they strong-arm both their employer and other employees.
During the final floor debate, multiple senators focused their arguments on taxpayers. They argued that while collective bargaining may be fine in the private sector, it shouldn’t be allowed in the public sector because those negotiations come at the expense of taxpayers since they’re dealing with public resources.
“This is a taxpayer bill,” Cullimore said. “This is protecting the taxpayers that are not represented in collective bargaining negotiations.”
Senate President Stuart Adams concurred and told reporters that collective bargaining does not belong in the public workspace.
Ledford responded, “We're taxpayers, too.”
“We would never negotiate ourselves out of a job,” she said. “We understand who our employers are, and we just want to provide better quality service. And that relationship between the union and between the employer is working, and they just took that away.”
Some lawmakers also argued that unions circumvent elected officials and that public employees should go directly to official representatives instead of having third parties get involved.
“We as a legislative body are elected to represent them,” said Republican Sen. Keven Stratton. “And so to speak, we are elected by the people to be the union and representatives of the people's servants in the public sector, that we are so grateful for.”
Some in the gallery laughed when Stratton compared lawmakers to unions.
This bill would still allow public employees to join unions. Cullimore said it just prohibits them from collective bargaining, which he said most unions are not doing. Some unions said this takes away the option if they wanted to do it in the future and sends a negative message.
Republican Sen. Daniel Thatcher emphatically voted against the bill. He believes this ban will cost taxpayers money because they’ll have to foot the bill for things unions are currently doing and it’ll be harder to hire workers.
“There's a saying that keeps coming to me, ‘That when we [the government] fear the people, there is liberty.’ Mr. President, right now, they fear us. They fear us. Mr. President,” Thatcher said.
Democratic Sen. Kathleen Riebe, a teacher and union member, said public employees, along with their families, have long suffered in order to serve their community. As examples, she mentioned her family members who worked during the 9/11 attacks, as well as teachers who experienced school shootings.
“This bill turns a civil servant into an indentured servant. Just putting in their time, [people] asking us how many years until we can get out,” Riebe said. “Back in the day, we were your partners. We protect you, we look out for you, we clear your roads. We are your community. We are the backbone of your community.”
Riebe added, “the people that protect you, the people that care for you, and the people that make this city run, are asking you not to pass this bill.”
Jack Tidrow, the president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Utah, was one of the union leaders who was neutral about the compromise Cullimore was looking for. Immediately after the Senate passed the ban, he had one statement for reporters.
“Utah is less safe now.”
