To Sen Daniel McCay and the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee
I urge you to vote “No” on HB267 Public Sector Labor Union Amendments. In the current version (HB267 Sub 1) the bill seeks to:
- End collective bargaining – prohibits a public employer from recognizing a labor organization as a bargaining agent for public employees; and prohibits a public employer from entering into collective bargaining contracts. Because public employees are not covered by the National Labor Relations Act, Teuscher is targeting them.
- Prohibit the use of public property – (think schools, parks, libraries, community centers, and the public employee workspace) for groups conducting union organizing or administration. For example, if teachers wanted to meet in the library at the end of the day to discuss topics that might include information about their UEA membership, they would not be allowed to do so.
- Mandate reporting to the Labor Commission – The public employer could certainly provide information to the Labor Commission on the number of members with payroll deduction of dues, but members who pay directly and choose to remain anonymous should be allowed to do so without fear of retribution. Similarly, the amounts of spend by a labor organization for representation, lobbying, donations, activities, or giving should not require disclosure to the Labor Commission. The members are the stakeholders of the labor organization, not the Labor Commission.
- Kills Retirement for Some Public Employees by forcing former public employees who were previously part of the Utah Retirement System to exit that system if they are later employed by a labor organization
- Introduces ambiguous definition of “Political purposes” that can be broadly interpreted as any literally any conversation or action if it results in a decision or action.
Unions are one of the most important tools to address the disparity of wealth distribution, and a legitimate tool to manage the welfare and way of life for Utahns. HB267 includes provisions that effectively destroy public employee unions in Utah. Key language of the bill takes away collective bargaining rights, which is a fundamental characteristic of a union. This is the third attempt by Jordan Teuscher to push this form of union-busting bill through the legislature.
- 2025 HB267 Public Sector Labor Union Amendments
- 2024 HB285 Labor Union Amendments
- 2023 HB241 Labor Union Amendments
Each year that Teuscher introduced legislation to actively dismantle worker rights for public employees, it was killed due to overwhelming opposition from the public.
A patent lie:
“Businesses have to make a profit or they go out of business. Government never goes out of business,” he said. “Because of that inherent obstacle with public sector collective bargaining, it really doesn’t make sense to continue to do it in our state.” – Rep. Jordan Teuscher, Fox 13 interview (Jan 22, 2025)
To suggest that public employees are tapping an unlimited resource of payroll funding simply because they work for a government entity is ridiculous. The ability to negotiate, (including collective bargaining) for a prevailing wage, let alone any wage, is material to any employee regardless of their employer or the industry that they work in.
Gregory Green, Resident
House District 44, Senate District 17
South Jordan, Utah