SALT LAKE CITY ( ABC4 ) — A Utah lawmaker behind a bill that amends rules for public labor unions calls the legislation a “win-win” for government workers and taxpayers, but some of the Beehive State’s largest unions don’t see it that way.
House Bill 285 , sponsored by Rep. Jordan Teuscher (R-South Jordan), would make it so that public workers would have to opt in each year to have union dues taken out of their paychecks. It would also require public employee unions to hold a recertification election every five years.
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Additionally, it would prohibit public employers from paying workers while they perform union activities, and it would bar public money from going toward assisting or promoting union organizing or administration.
“This bill is really focused to ensure that no government resources, taxpayer money, is going to public labor unions,” Teuscher said. “And it also ensures that the government workers who are members of these unions have protections and guardrails against these unions.”