Apr 28, 2025 - News

Utah's anti-union law goes to voters; labor groups meet signature threshold

Erin Alberty

A group of people hold up political signs that say "sign vote protect" — The Protect Utah Workers coalition announced their goal of reaching 320,000 signatures to overturn a bill that bans public employee unions from collective bargaining. Photo: Kim Bojórquez/Axios

Utahns will get the chance to vote on whether to repeal the state's new law banning collective bargaining for public employee unions, according to the latest count of signatures supporting a statewide referendum.

Driving the news: As of Monday, the lieutenant governor's office had verified enough signatures to show organizers had met the threshold of 8% of voters in 15 of the state's 29 Senate districts — perhaps the highest hurdle to placing the measure on the ballot.

That's according to calculations by Morgan and May, a Salt Lake consulting firm that has been matching the verified signers' voter IDs to their district.

The big picture: Labor groups this month submitted 320,000 signatures calling for a vote to repeal H.B. 267, which banned unions for teachers, firefighters and police from negotiating their members' contracts.

That's more than double the required total number — 8% of registered voters, or about 141,000 signatures.

Yes, but: Until Monday, it was unclear whether organizers could meet the threshold in a majority of Senate districts.

About a week before the deadline, organizers told Axios they had met the requirement in six of them.

How it works: County clerks verify each signature and post every signer's name and voter identification number on the lieutenant governor's website.

The information stays online for 45 days, during which signers can request removal.

The latest: Groups that oppose the ballot measure had been running campaigns to get backers to remove their signatures, arguing the bill "stops misuse of taxpayer funds."

But now that the referendum appears to have safely exceeded the signature requirement, one of those groups — "Utahns for Worker Freedom" — is planning to shift its focus to the 2026 election rather than urging people to remove their names, a spokesperson told The Salt Lake Tribune.

What they're saying: The Utah Education Association is trying to keep those signatures on-side while they could still back out.

"If you signed, KEEP YOUR NAME. KEEP YOUR VOICE," the statewide teachers union posted Monday on Instagram. "Don't let politicians or special interests take away your right to vote. Every name matters. Every voice matters."

Catch up quick: The bill passed the Utah Senate 16-13, with seven Republicans joining the six Democrats in opposition.

Gov. Spencer Cox said he signed it reluctantly and had hoped for a compromise.

What we're watching: Whether the anti-union bill becomes toxic for lawmakers who supported it.

Polling already showed the collective bargaining ban was deeply unpopular.

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Utah's anti-union law goes to voters; labor groups meet signature threshold

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