Utah lawmakers are reviewing a bill which would prohibit public employers from entering into collective bargaining contracts.
The bill was distributed on Jan. 18 and passed by the House of Representatives on Jan. 27. Rep. Jordan D. Teuscher of District 44 was the chief sponsor, and Sen. Kirk A. Cullimore was the Senate sponsor.
Teuscher presented the bill to the Senate Revenue and Tax Committee on Jan. 29 where he outlined the bill’s four main goals:
- Eliminate public sector collective bargaining
- Provide educators with optional professional liability insurance
- Prevent union staff who are not public employees from receiving public retirement benefits through the Utah retirement system
- Allow unions to use public property for meetings or events on the exact same term as other non-governmental groups
Collective bargaining allows employees to negotiate contracts as a group through union representation. This eliminates the need for employees to negotiate directly with employers.
While the bill proposes changes to the role of unions, the organizations will continue to play a role in the public workforce, Teuscher said. He said employees may still be union members, and this bill allows employees' individual voices to be heard.
“I respect and appreciate all of our public employees across the board, and I would not be running this bill if I did not think this would help all those employees to have a bigger voice in the process,” Teuscher said during the committee meeting.
Becky Waters, a math teacher at Alta High School, has been a union member for the past 31 years and does not support the bill. She said that unions are critical for communicating teachers’ needs and concerns.
“Having the union, they'll go in and kind of be a voice and say, ‘No, this is what the teachers need. This is what they want,’” Waters said. “And as long as we have a certain representation of teachers as part of the Union, then our voice matters.”
Katie Wilkinson, a teacher and association building leader at Alta High School, said collective bargaining is at the forefront of this issue, and it affects more than just teachers.
“It’s not just public schools. They’re going after firefighters and police officers, too,” Wilkinson said. “If these people lose their collective bargaining, they’re not going to be able to bargain for that cost of living, bargain for the safety measures and things that they need in place.”
Many have been taking action against House Bill 267 by showing up at the state capitol and contacting their legislator, she said.
“If we, as a people, say this is not what we want, this is not fair, this is not right, then hopefully they will listen,” Wilkinson said.
Teuscher said he still stands behind the bill and believes in its goals.
“I believe this bill is designed to ensure fairness, transparency and accountability, and I’d urge its support,” Teuscher said.
The Senate postponed consideration of Bill 267 on Jan. 31, effectively delaying the vote. It is unclear when they will revisit the bill.