Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz defends HB267, banning public unions' bargaining.
- Schultz claims the bill balances public employees' and taxpayers' interests, despite opposition.
- Opponents seek a 2026 referendum, arguing it limits teachers' and public workers' rights.
OREM — With efforts to undo it underway, Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz defended a controversial bill banning public sector unions from collectively bargaining, saying it is "trying to balance" public employees' interests with those of the taxpayers.
The back-and-forth over HB267 dominated the recent legislative session and promises to continue to grab headlines as opponents of the bill have launched efforts to qualify a referendum for the 2026 general election ballot. If successful, it would reverse the policy which a collection of labor groups says diminishes the ability for some teachers, police officers and firefighters to petition for better wages and working conditions.
Schultz, R-Hooper, and two other GOP representatives spoke at a panel discussion at Utah Valley University's Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy Tuesday, where the top House lawmaker argued the current system is unfair to public sector employees who choose not to join a union and downplayed the impacts of the bill — which was signed into law by Gov. Spencer Cox in February.
"I think this has kind of blown up into something bigger than what it really needs to be," Schultz said.
Rep. Val Peterson, R-Orem, who serves as chairman of the House budget committee and as UVU's vice president of administration and strategic relation, noted that teachers have seen a significant increase in pay over the past five years. Along with incremental increases, teachers received a $6,000 pay bump that was tied to a private school voucher program in 2023.
"That was not because of the unions, that was because of money the Legislature put into the system," Peterson said.
Rep. Stephanie Gricius, R-Eagle Mountain, said collective bargaining — which occurs when an employer and a labor union negotiate a new contract for employees — "is great in some circumstances," but negotiations can exclude nonunion members from those talks. She appeared to agree with Schultz that the bill is being made out to be a bigger deal than she thinks it is.
"You can still have the union there. They can still push; they can do everything they do now, they just can't be the only ones at the table," she said. "(The) messaging that you're hearing about this bill is coming from the union, and they are good at organizing, but they're only telling one side of the story."
She and Schultz both noted that only about a third of teachers in the state are part of unions, and Salt Lake City is the only city to have collective bargaining with police and firefighters.
"I don't believe that you have to be a member of the union to be treated fairly," the speaker said. "HB267 created a pathway for teachers to be able to get the protections they need and not be part of the union."
