SALT LAKE CITY — Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson has issued an order staying a law from going into effect that bans public employee unions from collective bargaining.
The order, issued Tuesday, blocks House Bill 267 pending validation of signatures for a citizen referendum that seeks to overturn the law. It is believed that supporters of the referendum have enough signatures to get the referendum on the ballot. They submitted more than 320,000 signatures — much more than the 140,000 required. If that is the case, the Lt. Governor's Office said, the law would be on hold until November 2026 when the referendum would go before voters.
The law was originally scheduled to go into effect on July 1 because of a budget item attached to the bill.
Unions submit 320,000+ signatures to get referendum on the ballot:
The effect of Lt. Gov. Henderson's stay means that public employee unions can continue to engage in collective bargaining. So far, that only applies to Salt Lake City government employees. The city recently completed a negotiation in an effort to beat the law from taking effect.
The coalition of labor unions who ran the referendum effort said they were pleased with the Lt. Governor's decision.
"The Protect Utah Workers Coalition is proud that the Lt. Governor ordered a stay preventing HB267 from going into effect. This deeply unpopular bill would have stripped public workers of our rights. We are one step closer to letting voters, not politicians, decide the future of collective bargaining in Utah," the group said in a statement to FOX 13 News. "Throughout the referendum process, we saw firsthand that voters overwhelmingly respect public workers and the vital services we provide to our communities."
"Union members across Utah stood shoulder to shoulder to accomplish what many thought was impossible. We could not have come this far without thousands of volunteers and voters who made their voices heard. This is proof that when workers unite, we win."
