Right to Work Wins Big in the Beehive State

Utah Bans Monopolistic Government Unionism Across the Board

Utah’s Right to Work law, which was originally adopted in 1955 and has enjoyed overwhelming popular support ever since, does a great deal to curtail union-boss abuses in the Beehive State. 

However, the effectiveness of the law has been diminished by the fact that, up to now, Utah public servants of all kinds could be required to submit to union monopoly bargaining on matters concerning their pay, benefits, and work rules in order to work for the taxpayer.

Monopoly Bargaining Puts Individual Worker ‘Under Powerful Compulsion’

As the late Thomas E. Harris, then a top AFL-CIO lawyer, acknowledged back in 1962, the very fact that a union is legally empowered to “negotiate the contract which regulates the incidents of [a worker’s] industrial life puts him under powerful compulsion to join the union.” (Emphasis added.) 

Fortunately, this year, Utah lawmakers decided to heed the wishes of their overwhelmingly pro-Right to Work constituents and approved legislation that prohibits Big Labor from seizing monopoly-bargaining control of public servants who work at all levels and agencies of state and local government. 

After being adopted by the Utah House of Representatives and Senate, H.B.267, the legislation repealing Big Labor’s special privileges, was signed by Gov. Spencer Cox (R) on February 14.

‘Choosing Your Own Representation’ Is a Basic American Right

Writing on behalf of the Committee’s more than 30,000 members and supporters in the state just days earlier, National Right to Work Committee President Mark Mix had strongly encouraged Mr. Cox to sign H.B.267, observing: 

“No individual should be forced to accept Big Labor monopoly bargaining in order to serve the people of Utah. 

“It is a fundamental American right to choose your own representation — even a convicted criminal retains this right. But government union bosses have taken that right away from Utah workers.”

This victory for the Committee and its allies in Utah did not come easily.

“Besides writing to the governor, the Committee mailed every state legislator, and engaged 165,000 supporters via email to contact the governor and urge him to sign the bill. And I personally testified in favor of it,” said Right to Work Vice President John Kalb.

After passing the House under the sponsorship of Rep. Jordan Teuscher (R-South Jordan), H.B.267 stalled in the Senate for several days as weak-kneed legislators sought a compromise with government union bosses.

The union bosses were offered a chance to retain their monopoly-bargaining privileges if they submitted to a recertification vote every five years.

Mr. Kalb noted: “This olive branch was a flop. Most of the union brass turned it down, so Senate sponsor Kirk Cullimore [R-Cottonwood Heights] reverted the bill to its original language and guided it to Gov. Cox’s desk.”

Utah Victory Follows Successful Efforts Elsewhere Over the Past Decade-and-a-Half

Beyond ending monopoly bargaining, H.B.267 puts an end to “official time” in which union officials are paid by taxpayers, often accruing public pension benefits, to conduct union business. It also ends union bosses’ preferential access to public property and resources. 

Utah’s ban on union monopoly bargaining continues a string of state-level successes over the past decade-and-a-half for the Committee and allied groups, as well as for independent-minded public servants and taxpayers.

 In 2011, Wisconsin’s Act 10 mandated annual recertification votes for government unions. Iowa followed suit in 2017. West Virginia stepped up in 2021 to pass a ban on using taxpayer-funded payroll systems to collect union dues, while Arkansas passed a ban on monopolistic government unionism in courts, public schools and universities, and most state agencies.

In 2023, with the Committee’s help, three states — Arkansas, Florida and Tennessee — banned automatic payroll deductions for large swaths of government union bosses. 

“We are aware of potential efforts by the public union bosses in Utah to force a referendum on H.B.267. That would be a costly proposition for Big Labor, as they readily admit,” said Mr. Kalb.

“In the meantime, the Committee will continue to promote efforts to rein in abusive government unionism everywhere we can. Efforts to do so are already currently underway in Idaho, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas.”

---

This article was originally published in our monthly newsletter. Go here to access previous newsletter posts.

To support our cause and help end forced unionism, go here to donate.

---