By Robert Gherke | The Salt Lake Tribune
Gov. Spencer Cox said it was “very impressive” but not surprising that labor unions were able to gather more than 320,000 signatures in an attempt to repeal a law banning collective bargaining for public employees — a bill he said he didn’t care for, but signed it anyway.
“I said from the beginning I didn’t like the bill. It wasn’t something I was interested in, not something I would run,” Cox said during his monthly PBS Utah news conference Tuesday.
He said he signs “lots of bills” that he doesn’t like for a variety of reasons. HB267, which bans public entities from negotiating contracts with union representatives, passed early in the legislative session, which Cox said makes vetoing it more challenging.
The governor said he supports parts of the bill and thinks its impacts have been exaggerated, contending there are only 11 public entities in the state that engage in collective bargaining. He also said he warned legislators that the Utah Education Association could be strengthened by the legislation.
He said the referendum process is a “powerful check” on legislative power and he wasn’t surprised at the large number of signatures. “It’s called organized labor for a reason. They’re actually organized,” he said.
“I want to congratulate them for their signatures, not just the UEA, but others as well,” he said. “It takes a lot of work. I know. As one who has worked hard to gather signatures over the years, to get 300,000 signatures is very impressive.”
Read the full story at SLTrib.com.
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.