While the signatures have not been validated yet, if the threshold is met, a Utah law banning collective bargaining will be put on hold.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Teacher John Arthur as labor leaders turn in nineteen boxes of signatures (the sixth drop to Salt Lake County) in their attempt to qualify a referendum repealing an anti-union bill, at the Salt Lake County Clerk’s office on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Labor groups submitted some 320,000 signatures Wednesday, more than double the number required, in their effort to repeal an anti-union bill passed by the Republican-led Legislature this year.
The overwhelming number makes the union’s Protect Utah Workers campaign the largest signature-gathering campaign in state history.
Union members lined up Wednesday morning to unload and deliver about 20 bankers boxes of signature packets to the Salt Lake County Clerk’s office before gathering outside and singing “Solidarity Forever,” a popular anthem of trade unions.
“This isn’t about politics. This is about people,” said John Arthur, a Salt Lake City School District elementary teacher, on Tuesday as organizers delivered boxes of signature packets to the Salt Lake County clerk’s office.
“You made this possible,” he told the small crowd. “You empowered the people, and now the people of Utah will get to decide what kind of state we’ll be.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Labor leaders turn in nineteen boxes of signatures (the sixth drop to Salt Lake County) in their attempt to qualify a referendum repealing an anti-union bill, at the Salt Lake County Clerk’s office on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Tuesday was the final day for Utahns to sign a petition supporting the repeal effort.
But it’s still not a guarantee the repeal effort will make it onto the 2026 ballot. The signatures have to be verified by the county clerks and organizers have to hit specific signature thresholds in 15 of 29 state senate districts. That process could take a few weeks.
“This is what solidarity looks like. A coalition of 19 labor unions came together — firefighters, police officers, educators, nurses, miners, food workers — all in support of this,” said Donovan Minutes, a Salt Lake City firefighter.
“Public workers are the backbone of this state. We keep it educated, we keep it safe, we keep it strong,” he said.
Kevin Murray, president of the Utah Fraternal Order of Police, thanked the members of the public who signed the petitions.
“As signers of this referendum, you have given us the ability to speak on behalf of the line officers, the ones who risk their lives daily protecting our streets,” he said. “You have given us a voice to communicate with leaders of our communities the needs of the officers and to entice the best police officers in the nation to serve your communities.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Firefighter Donavan Minutes speaks after labor leaders turned signatures in their attempt to qualify a referendum repealing an anti-union bill, at the Salt Lake County Clerk’s office on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
HB267, passed by Republican lawmakers and signed by Gov. Spencer Cox earlier this year, bans government agencies from negotiating contracts with unions representing public employees — teachers, firefighters, police officers and other government workers.
When it passed, it was heralded by national conservative groups as a cutting-edge bill that protects taxpayers.
But labor leaders said it deprived public servants of their voice and alleged the ban was punitive, a payback for teachers fighting a constitutional amendment last year that would have removed a provision guaranteeing funding for public schools.
If more than 140,748 of the signatures submitted are valid and labor groups hit their targets in at least 15 senate districts, opposing groups will have 45 days to contact voters who signed the petitions to try to convince them to remove their names from the petitions.
That means there won’t be a definitive answer on whether the referendum qualifies for the ballot until June 21.
“This is just step one,” said Jessica Stauffer, a nurse at University Hospital. “There are people out there already trying to scare supporters, trying to confuse them, trying to convince them to remove their names. Don’t fall for it. If you signed the petition, keep your name [on it]. If you believe in nurses, teachers, first responders and public workers, stand with us. We are ready for the next fight and we will win.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Boxes of signatures are checked in at the Salt Lake County Clerk’s office as labor leaders attempt to qualify a referendum repealing an anti-union bill, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
If the threshold is met, HB267 will be put on hold until the 2026 election, at which time voters will be able to decide if they want to rescind the law.
“All we know right now is that 320,000 Utahns stepped up to sign our referendum,” Arthur said.
A recent poll by RABA (Red America, Blue America) Research, a bipartisan polling firm, asked about HB267 and found that 80% of Utah respondents oppose “changing our state’s laws to weaken employment protections for health care workers, educators, first responders, and other essential workers.”
The Protect Our Workers signature effort was bankrolled largely by the National Education Association, the parent organization of the UEA, which provided about $1.7 million of the $2.5 million raised by the movement.
This story is breaking and will be updated.