By Carmen Nesbitt | The Salt Lake Tribune | Photo by Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune

Facing a room of about 200 Utah educators, Gov. Spencer Cox apologized.

“Thank you for what you’re doing,” Cox said early Thursday, kicking off the annual “Show Up For Teachers” summer conference, hosted by Utah first lady Abby Cox.

“I know it’s been a rough year,” he continued. “I want to apologize for adding to that harshness that you felt during this year. Certainly, not my intention.”

In his remarks, Cox didn’t directly mention HB267, a bill that banned public-sector employees — including teachers, police officers and firefighters — from collectively bargaining. But the measure elicited mass opposition from state labor organizations — including the Utah Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union — as it moved through the Legislature.

Cox signed it into law Feb. 14. He has said he never liked the bill and that it “wasn’t something I was interested in, not something I would run.” But his decision not to veto the measure prompted some teachers to consider boycotting the summer conference. About 2,300 educators attended Thursday’s event, organizers said.

Labor groups quickly sought a referendum to overturn the law and in late April met the requirements to put a measure on the 2026 ballot to repeal it. It marked the most successful signature-gathering effort in state history, according to the lieutenant governor’s office.

Read more 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.