Labor leaders across the state will begin gathering signatures on Saturday in hopes of putting a referendum on the 2026 ballot to repeal a bill that prevents government entities from negotiating contracts with public employee unions.
At eight separate events at union offices in Logan, Ogden, Salt Lake, Utah County and St. George, union groups will gather the first of what they hope will be enough voter signatures to repeal the law.
The labor-backed group, Protect Utah Workers, was formed as a political issues committee on Feb. 28, according to filings with the lieutenant governor’s office. It will have until mid-April to submit its signatures.
After that, under Utah law, opponents will have 45 days to approach the individuals who signed the petition and try to convince them to remove their signatures.
At the end of the process, Protect Utah Workers will need 140,748 valid signatures, representing 8% of the registered voters statewide, as well as 8% of the registered voters in at least 15 of Utah’s 29 counties.
If they succeed, House Bill 267, sponsored by Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan — which prohibits unions representing public employees, like police officers, firefighters, teachers and others in contract negotiations — would go on the ballot in 2026, and voters would decide whether it should be repealed.
Hailey Higgins, spokesperson for the Utah Education Association, said the coalition, Protect Utah Workers, has already had more than 1,500 individuals sign up to gather signatures.
“It’s all-hands-on-deck. It’s crazy, but it’s worth it,” she said. “It just shows the public opposition to [the bill] and the public support for overturning it.”
While organizers have said they hope to do most of the signature-gathering with volunteers, they have also hired a signature-gathering firm.
The National Education Association, the parent chapter of the Utah Education Association, has kicked in nearly $500,000 to the Protect Utah Workers as a “downpayment,” according to campaign finance filings, to Landslide Political for paid signature gathering.
Landslide is a Salt Lake City-based political consulting firm co-founded by Salt Lake City Councilman Alejandro Puy.
Higgins said other labor groups will be helping with the financing. “It’s such a large effort,” she said, “that we expect other labor organizations to contribute, as well.”
Utah has the most difficult referendum standards in the country and, as a result, it has rarely been used.
In 2020, citizens gathered enough signatures to let voters decide whether to repeal a legislative tax reform package that included an increase in the sales tax on food. After the signature threshold was met, lawmakers relented and repealed the tax bill.
And in 2007, the UEA and the NEA spent millions of dollars on a referendum to repeal a school voucher program. Utahns supported the repeal with 62% of voters wanting the voucher program rescinded.
Currently, the Protect Utah Workers coalition includes the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees local chapter, the Utah School Employees Association, the American Federation of Teachers, local Teamsters, the Utah Public Employees Association, the Utah Education Association, the Utah AFL-CIO and others.
