Public employee union leaders are making a last-ditch effort to stop a bill that would ban their ability to bargain on behalf of their members and instead are trying to revive a less-damaging option.
House Bill 267, sponsored by Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, would ban government agencies from negotiating with police, firefighter, teacher and public employee unions, and currently sits on the desk of Gov. Spencer Cox. He has one week to sign or veto it.
But Sen. David Hinkins, R-Orangeville, said he’s agreed to run a compromise version of the anti-union legislation in a new bill, the senator told KUTV Channel 2. Labor representatives told The Salt Lake Tribune that Hinkins could run an HB267 substitute that lawmakers proposed but then scrapped last week.
Hinkins did not respond to a phone call or texts from The Tribune Wednesday evening.
That substitute, at the time, appeared to no longer outright prohibit collective bargaining for public employees, but still required a “recertification election every five years.”
That means that to engage in collective bargaining, all of a public agency’s employees, whether they are part of a union or not, would need to vote to “certify the collective bargaining representative.” At least 50% plus one would need to vote in favor.
However, any failures to vote would be counted as “no votes.”
“I’ve been told there was a consensus, and for some reason, it blew up in the 11th hour,” Hinkins told KUTV. “I’m just trying to put it back together where I think it should be.”
Lawmakers at the time said they ditched the effort because they failed to reach a consensus on the “neutrality” of the revision with union representatives.
Union leaders have reluctantly supported Hinkins’ effort which, although still limiting union involvement, would be preferable to an across-the-board ban.
“None of us in the unions are ‘good’ with any of this,” said Brad Asay, president of the American Federation of Teachers Utah. The organization, among others, had been involved in negotiations with lawmakers on HB267. “We’re not in support, but we applaud [Hinkins’] efforts.”
Asay added the bill that currently sits on the governor’s desk is “horrible.”
“None of this is the right thing as far as I’m concerned,” he said, “but it is important to keep collective bargaining for public employees.”
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Firefighters raise their arms in solidarity during a protest against HB267, a bill that limits collective bargaining for public unions, at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025.
Renée Pinkney, president of the Utah Education Association, said the thousand people who turned out last week for a rally at the Capitol, the 16,000 who have signed a petition asking the governor to veto HB267 and the flood of texts and emails to the governor’s office with the same request shows “the public is definitely on our side.”
“We are supportive of any attempts to get the compromise legislation back in play,” she said of Hinkins’ efforts.
Jack Tidrow, president of the Professional Firefighters of Utah, said that “all parties are still working toward a better solution.”
For Hinkins’ compromise to work, Cox will either need to veto HB267 with commitments that the compromise would make it to his desk, or the governor could sign the current bill into law — it wouldn’t take effect until July — and wait for Hinkins’ bill to pass and preempt the earlier version.
Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore, R-Cottonwood Heights, the Senate sponsor of HB267, said earlier this week that he isn’t sure his colleagues would back an attempt to revive the less-onerous version of the bill.
“I think it would be a difficult ask at this point just because a lot of people that supported this in the Legislature support this based on the policy and where we landed. Honestly, people can disagree with it, but it’s an easier explanation than what the compromise would have been on policy,” he said. “I think it would be tough to bring it back and try to redo a compromise.”
Pinkney said that if Cox signs Teuscher’s bill and lawmakers aren’t willing to pass Hinkins’ compromise bill, then, as The Tribune previously reported, they are considering the potential of gathering signatures for a ballot referendum to repeal it.
That would require supporters to gather more than 140,000 signatures spread across the state. If they collect enough signatures, the bill would be put on hold until voters decide in the 2026 election if they want to repeal the bill or let it take effect.
Lawmakers had abandoned the draft Hinkins is reviving last week, saying they had failed to reach a consensus on the “neutrality” of the revision with union representatives.
“If there’s not going to be consensus,” Cullimore continued, “then let’s just run it on its face. And I guess whatever happens, happens.”
Senators passed the original version of HB267 Feb. 6. If vetoed by the governor, the Legislature could override the veto, but it would take a two-thirds majority — 50 in the House and 20 in the Senate. The original bill did have that level of support when it passed in either chamber.
“We feel betrayed by the legislative process,” Pinkney said after the bill passed. “We were working so hard on getting some changes to the bill.”
This story is breaking and may be updated.
