Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, listens as Mormon Women for Ethical Government and The League of Womens voters oppose the Utah State Legislature during oral arguments at The Supreme Court of Utah in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (Pool photo by Jeffrey D. Allred/Deseret News)
Utah lawmakers advanced a bill on Thursday that would change how labor unions in the public sector, which represent teachers, firefighters and police officers, can negotiate.
The bill would prevent public sector labor unions from engaging in collective bargaining, the process where unions negotiate terms of employment with their employers. The bill sponsor, Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, said there are only a handful of public sector entities that actually engage in collective bargaining — they include Utah Education Association, the Salt Lake City Fire Department and the Salt Lake City Police Department.
Teuscher said it will bolster representation among non-union public sector employees, allowing everyone to negotiate regardless of their membership. Teachers and firefighters describe it as “anti-union,” and worry it will impact their ability to negotiate for better wages and benefits, and could in turn lead to a less safe work environment.
After lengthy public comment, which mostly saw teachers and union advocates speaking against it, the bill passed out of the House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee Thursday, with four lawmakers voting “no” — Reps. Ashlee Matthews, D-West Jordan; Hoang Nguyen, D-Salt Lake City; Thomas Peterson, R-Brigham City; and Norman Thurston, R-Provo.
The bill still needs to get approval from the entire House, a Senate committee and the entire Senate.
In addition to eliminating collective bargaining, Teuscher’s bill would also prevent publicly-funded paid leave to be used for union action, while barring special exceptions for unions to use public property (if other groups have to pay to use a public room or space, so does the union). Union employees who aren’t actually employed by the state would not be eligible for state retirement benefits, either.
Unions would be required to provide the Utah Labor Commission, and its members, with annual accounting to disclose how it spends its money and membership numbers.
And, the bill would give teachers the chance to opt into professional liability insurance.
Teuscher said eliminating collective bargaining levels the playing field for employees to negotiate their terms of employment. Now, anyone can come to the table, not just a union representative.
“It would allow, in those districts that do collective bargaining, that they’re not the only one that can come in and make those teachers’ voices heard,” he said. “Any group could come in and say the same thing … teachers themselves could come in and advocate on their behalf.”
If passed, Utah would join nine states — Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia — that have restrictions on public sector collective bargaining. However, most of those states have carve outs. For example, Texas has an exception for police and firefighters; Tennessee allows teachers to collectively bargain on certain issues; Indiana allows all three entities to collectively bargain.
Several teachers on Thursday spoke in favor of the bill, claiming it would prevent the “bullying” that they say comes from unions toward non-union educators.
“We need all voices to be heard in the teaching profession, and not just those that align with the union and their political views,” said Cole Kelley, a teacher at American Fork High School and member of the Utah State Board of Education.
A handful of lobbyists and members of the public — including representatives from the Utah Tax Commission, the National Right to Work Committee, Utah Parents United and Americans for Prosperity Utah — also threw their support behind the bill, saying it would benefit taxpayers by eliminating the subsidization of certain union activity.
But most of the people speaking during the public comment period Thursday were teachers, firefighters and other union proponents who opposed the bill.
“I enjoy having collective bargaining,” said Jack Tidrow, president of the Professional Firefighters of Utah. “It would greatly hinder our ability to ensure our firefighter safety, safe staffing levels and protect our members’ rights,” he said.
The bill would limit the union’s ability to sit down with employers to talk about protective equipment, safety policies, or out-of-state travel, he said; employers are less likely to meet with employees if they aren’t unionized.
Sara Jones with the Utah Education Association, which represents about 18,000 teachers around the state, said the bill was expressly targeted toward her organization.
“The intent of the bill really is to diminish the UEA,” she said, pointing to the provision that provides liability insurance for teachers, and another item in the bill that prohibits labor union staff, who aren’t state employees, from accessing the state’s retirement benefits.
But, like most of the people speaking in opposition Thursday, the main sticking point for the UEA is the elimination of collective bargaining.
“By banning the ability for educators to come together to bargain with their employer, you’re banning the process that … can be very collaborative,” she told the committee. “By passing this bill, unfortunately it sends a message that educators don’t deserve a collective voice in their profession, or don’t deserve input on their salaries or working conditions.”
Despite the opposition from two Republicans in the committee Thursday, the bill has the backing of some of the legislature’s most powerful members. House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, said on Thursday that he supports the bill, telling reporters “sometimes the unions going through that collective bargaining don’t have what’s best in mind for the students.”
And in the Senate, the bill is sponsored by Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore, R-Sandy, who said it would “create more opportunity for teachers to have a voice.”
“Right now, a lot of contracts limit who school districts can negotiate with,” Cullimore said.
Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, a Salt Lake City Democrat, said the bill will likely become a partisan issue. She heard from several teachers on Thursday who had concerns with the legislation, telling reporters they feel it would curtail their representation and “not allow them to participate fully.”
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