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Public safety unions in Utah express concern over House Bill 267

By Ryan Aston - | Jan 31, 2025

BEN DORGER, Standard-Examiner file photo

An Ogden City fire truck, shown in 2020.

The Utah House of Representatives voted this week to advance House Bill 267, dubbed the “Public Sector Labor Union Amendments,” to the Utah Senate.

The bill, which prohibits public employers from recognizing labor organizations as bargaining agents for public employees — including teachers, firefighters and police officers — passed by a 42-32 vote. On Wednesday, it squeaked out of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee, passing by a vote of 4-3.

As constituted, H.B. 267 effectively bans collective bargaining for public sector unions. Collective bargaining is the process by which employers and employees, or their representatives, negotiate the terms and conditions of a labor agreement.

Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, the bill’s sponsor, argued on the House floor Monday that the “minority” of workers and reps he says comprises unions should not act as the voice for the whole of a given employee base.

“In a lot of our government agencies that do collective bargaining today, that voice is made up of a far minority of the employment base across the board,” Teuscher said. “So, there are literally thousands of voices across our state that don’t get heard as a part of that process.”

Zack Hatch, a Davis County resident and district VP with the Professional Firefighters of Utah, told the Standard-Examiner that the situation should not be painted with such a broad brush.

“The union that I’m with, as far as our local, we’re 97% union members,” Hatch said, adding that fair representation is a foundational principle in his union. “Even if you’re a non-union member and you come to me with an issue, I have a duty to represent you as if you were union. We always do that, right? Because if something’s not going good for one firefighter, just because he’s not a union member, it doesn’t mean that’s not going to happen to another firefighter or a union member or not.”

Hatch said that some fire departments have struggled to attract and retain employees, which is detrimental to the service levels they can provide to the community and also a taxpayer burden when new firefighters are constantly having to be trained. He believes the ability to have a dialogue with public officials and also negotiate for fair wages, benefits and needed resources is critical to addressing the issue.

“Some up-north fire departments, they’ve struggled with pay for a long time,” Hatch said. “Recently, they’ve started to come up. But, if you look at Ogden City, their turnover rate in firefighters is astronomical. The amount of firefighters that they have like in and out, in and out, it’s astronomical.”

A Facebook post from the Roy Firefighters Union Local 3854 read, “This is a bad bill for all public employees in Utah. Call your representatives and oppose it.”

Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, said the bill is “about consistency and fairness” and maintained that “there is nothing stopping unions from still associating and still pulling together and coming to use their voice.” In addition to curbing collective bargaining, though, H.B. 267 prohibits the use of public money or public property to assist, promote or deter union organizing or administration, which opponents say could provide barriers to addressing concerns with officials.

Representatives on both sides of the political aisle have taken issue with the bill in its current form; 18 Republicans joined Democrats in the state House in voting “no.” Teuscher has also acknowledged the pushback received from labor organizations, noting that “potential compromises” are being discussed.

In the meantime, Hatch worries about what H.B. 267’s passing would mean for firefighters and the communities they serve.

“We’re already in a shortage of firefighters in Utah. This is going to make it worse, because we’re going to have people who want to leave and go somewhere else. Because when we don’t advocate for wages, benefits, working conditions, pay doesn’t keep up. Safety doesn’t keep up.”

Starting at $4.32/week.

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