The Utah Senate approves a bill banning collective bargaining by public employees

Salt Lake City, Utah – In a narrow vote of 16–13, the Utah State Senate approved a bill that denies collective bargaining rights to public employee unions.

Following a stalemate between union leaders and the bill’s sponsors, House Bill 267 was ultimately put to a vote on Thursday.

“I think it’s going to crush unions,” stated Katy Hogge, an organizer with AFSCME, a group that advocates for certain urban union members.

In the corridors outside the Senate rooms, some union members sobbed and hugged after the decision, while others vented their rage.

“Utah is less safe now,” swore Jack Tidrow, a member of the Utah Professional Firefighters.
“I’m in shock, honestly,” AFSCME member Shykell Ledford said. “No employer asked for this bill, so I don’t know why it was brought up.”

However, the measure’s Senate majority leader, Kirk Cullimore, R-Sandy, claimed that unions could still organize and use the bill to further their interests. According to him, public employee unions’ arguments against taxpayers are the issue.

He later referred to the bill as “pre-emptive,” saying, “Only a very small minority of public employee unions in the state even use collective bargaining.”

The bill is opposed by Salt Lake City’s collective bargaining public employee unions. When asked who backed it, Sen. Cullimore responded that taxpayer watchdog groups did.

The law, according to Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, delivered a message to teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other union members.

“I have a lot of concerns for the impact that this is going to have on our first responders, our teachers,” she stated.

While unions weighed a proposal proposed by parliamentary leaders, the bill had stagnated. A different draft of the bill gave unions the opportunity to maintain their collective bargaining powers, but only if they promised to be “neutral” and a majority of all employees supported it. A different draft of the bill attempted to completely outlaw unions for public employees.

Some senators, who were still negotiating with union officials, complained on the Senate floor that they were being bombarded with calls and emails pushing them to vote against the bill. They were charged with failing to adequately communicate with the rank-and-file members.

“What happens when neutral is totally empty? “There is a serious issue,” stated Senator Cal Musselman, a Republican from West Haven.

A union member herself, Senator Kathleen Riebe, D-Cottonwood Heights, stated that the law “turns a civil servant into an indentured servant.”

According to union members, if the bill is signed into law, the public will be affected.

“People are going to get hurt,” added Ledford. “It might be police and fire, or it might be your snow plow drivers because they weren’t trained well enough because their union wasn’t able to negotiate better safety.”

Sen. Cullimore told reporters after the vote that the legislature does support public servants like teachers, firefighters, and police officers. He mentioned additional legislation that benefits first responders and the pay increases they have authorized for teachers.

“We value all civil servants, but especially our teachers and first responders. “This does not indicate a diminished dedication to them and their sector,” he stated.