teachers

As of the morning of April 28, the labor groups hit the 8% target in 15 Senate districts, and 146,480 signatures have been verified.

The signatures turned in are more than double the 140,748 needed. The next step is signature verification, followed by 45 days when opponents can convince people to remove their names.

Labor groups have until April 15 to gather enough signatures to put Utah’s collective bargaining ban on the ballot.

Representatives from eight unions announced Wednesday they intend to file and collect signatures for a ballot statewide referendum to overturn HB267.

As the end of the session draws near, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, House Speaker Mike Schultz and Senate President Stuart Adams announced a wage increase of $278 million for teachers, support staff and district staff.

Utah’s governor said he was disappointed “the process did not ultimately deliver the compromise” that was on the table. The state’s largest teachers union said lawmakers have “ignored thousands of voices.”

The sound of hundreds of voices yelling “veto” could be heard on every floor of the Utah State Capitol Friday. Just a day before, lawmakers passed a bill to ban public labor union collective bargaining.

GOP leadership ditched a deal that would’ve allowed some collective bargaining because they didn’t get the positive response they wanted from unions and their members. Democrats and the state’s largest teachers union are asking Gov. Spencer Cox to veto the bill.

Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore said he’s gotten mixed messages from public unions and their members on his proposal to allow some collective bargaining. Without a consensus, he said they’ll likely press ahead with a full ban.

Organized labor is having a moment in Utah politics right now.

“Lawmakers heard us, they heard you. And while this fight is not over, it's a testament to what's possible when public workers stand in solidarity,” Utah Education Association President Renée Pinkney said.

“Our second and our third graders stayed very stagnant; it was about exactly the same as where we were the year before. We've kind of hit a plateau,” Julie Clark with the Utah State Board of Education said of reading at grade level by the end of the 2023-2024 school year.