Like many Utahns, I am proud to live in Utah because we are a family friendly state. Born and raised here by a police officer and a school social worker, I was educated in Utah’s public school system, attended two Utah universities, and now give back to our great state by teaching in the same public school system that educated me.
House Bill 285, Labor Union Amendments run by Representative Jordan Teuscher makes it more difficult for public employees to organize and collectively bargain for safe working conditions, decent wages and benefits, and legal protections. Instead, it forces them to depend on benevolent employers graciously bestowing these benefits upon them. If passed, it will make it harder for Utah’s Public Employees, like me and my parents, to take care of our families. Is this bill really the Utah Way?
There was an effort to amend the bill to exclude first responders, police and firefighters, because Rep. Teuscher “made some commitments to other colleagues,” which suggests he wanted to protect these specific groups from the harms he knows his bill will inflict on them.
By the end of the 26 January House Business & Labor Committee meeting, the committee voted to keep first responder unions in the bill because it’s not the place of the Legislature “to pick winners and losers,” as Rep. Burton pointed out. Because this bill prohibits public employers from using public property to assist or support a union, police, firefighter, dispatch, and correctional facility employees will be unable to speak about their local association, including before or after shifts. First responders always work on public property. Who’s going to monitor these conversations? When would they be able to hold these conversations? Unless you want them to discuss this while working a fire or serving a warrant, this restriction denies new recruits and employees their agency to join their local association. By making it harder to discuss union business, this bill hurts first responders who serve our communities selflessly day and night. Is denying emergency personnel agency to collectively bargain for due process, benefits, and legal protections how Utah supports our first responders?
Representative Teuscher claims that this bill “safeguards public resources” and that public employers are using taxpayer dollars to pay their employees to participate in union activities. This is an unfounded allegation. The time union presidents spend on association business is paid for by the association, funded by membership dues not employers. Union work happens outside of contracted time. If Rep. Teuscher has evidence otherwise, he needs to share it.
Out-of-state lobbyists have been flown into Utah’s capitol from out-of-state organizations to lobby local Utah legislators for support. Workers for Opportunity, which is part of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, is based in Michigan. These organizations have run bills similar to HB285 in more than a dozen other states – this is not a local problem, it’s a national agenda being pushed on Utah that attacks Utah workers. Is a bill with out-of-state ties a bill that follows the Utah Way? Is a bill written by an out-of-state organization a good fit for Utah, which wants to “stay weird” and remain DIFFERENT from the rest of the country?
HB285 is unnecessary because Utah is already a right-to-work state that emphasizes local control. For public school teachers, local school districts already decide whether or not to collectively bargain with associations representing teachers. For example, Ogden School District does not negotiate with the Ogden Education Association, while the Granite School District does negotiate with the Granite Education Association.
Rep. Tuescher’s out-of-state lobbyist claimed this bill is good for unions, but not a single Utah union came out in support. Interest in his bill hearing filled TWO overflow rooms and those who made public comments were overwhelmingly opposed. “The people” do not want this bill. Neither do their employers – the police, firefighters, developers, and school districts did not ask for this.
Utah’s public employees: first responders, snow plow drivers, educators, county employees, and many more are who help our great state thrive. Is making it harder for our neighbors to support their families, access legal advice, and enjoy decent work benefits the Utah Way? I don’t believe it is. As an educator and daughter of a retired police officer, I urge you to contact your state representatives and urge them to vote no on HB285. Looking out for our brothers and sisters and their families is the Utah Way.
Charlotte Gatrell is a teacher in the Jordan School District. She has a Masters of Education from Southern Utah University, a K-6 Elementary Mathematics Teaching Endorsement, and a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Endorsement. Her opinions are her own.
Correction, Jan. 29, 2024: Ogden Education Association does the negotiations for Ogden. They do an Interest Based Bargaining, and they start in September. Districts still have the choice to negotiate or not negotiate with local associations.”
