| |
Utah GOP Takes Aim at Teachers Union 01/24 06:07
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah lawmakers advanced a bill Thursday that experts
say would establish one of the most restrictive labor laws in the country as
Republicans seek to curb the political influence of unions serving teachers and
other public service professionals.
The GOP proposal would ban collective bargaining across all of Utah's public
sectors -- education, transit, law enforcement and more. It would bar labor
unions from negotiating on behalf of workers for better wages and working
conditions.
Many educators, the state's most frequent users of collective bargaining,
view the bill as way for Republicans to weaken teachers unions and clear a path
for their own education agenda.
"The harm of the bill will be borne by public school educators living and
working in every single legislative district," said Sara Jones of the Utah
Education Association. "It sends a message that educators don't deserve a
collective voice in their profession, don't deserve input on their salaries or
working conditions or benefits, or don't deserve a say in the policies that
impact their classrooms."
Teachers unions are some of the most outspoken opponents of Republican
policies in Utah and other states where lawmakers have sought to eliminate
diversity, equity and inclusion programs, expand school choice vouchers and
restrict transgender bathroom use and sports participation in schools.
The unions tend to skew liberal, which Republicans argue makes them unfit to
represent teachers with conservative political views.
"We need all voices to be heard in the teaching profession, and not just
those that align with the union and their political views," said Cole Kelley, a
Republican on Utah's State Board of Education who teaches high school in
American Fork.
State Rep. Jordan Teuscher, a South Jordan Republican who is sponsoring the
bill, said collective bargaining agreements often restrict workers from
participating in their own contract negotiations, only allowing communication
between the union representative and the employer. The bill creates a system in
which employers can engage directly with all employees when addressing
workplace concerns, he said.
The measure passed the GOP-led House Business, Labor and Commerce Committee
in a 11-4 vote with support from some of the state's most powerful Republicans,
including House Speaker Mike Schultz.
State employees could still join unions under the bill, but the unions could
not formally negotiate on their behalf.
President Donald Trump has backed policies making it harder for workers to
unionize, yet his populist appeal helped Republicans make steady gains among
union members in the 2024 election. Republicans have tried to bring some
blue-collar workers into the fold, but largely from the private sector, said
John Logan, a labor expert at San Francisco State University.
"Republicans see teachers unions as the main obstacle to transforming public
education the way they would like to," Logan told The Associated Press. "They
want the working class on their side, but public sector unions, they don't have
any use for them. Ideologically, they're just an obstacle."
Logan said Utah's bill is "fairly extreme" and would place the state among
the most restrictive for public sector unions, along with North Carolina and
South Carolina.
Collective bargaining has been banned for decades across all public sector
jobs in the Carolinas. The two states have flip-flopped between having the
lowest percentage of union workers in the country for the past two decades,
with South Carolina currently in lowest spot at 3%, according to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics.
In Texas and Georgia, only police and firefighters have the right to
bargain. They could not do so under the Utah bill, which also faced opposition
from firefighters who worried they would not be able to advocate for proper
worker safety without union support.
|
|
