This is a key issue separating myself from Jordan Teuscher. Jordan is anti-union and is the sponsor of HB285 Labor Union Amendments which impacts public employees. He has also submitted bills in past legislative sessions (like the 2023 HB241 Labor Union Amendments) that work against worker rights.
- I support the right to organize, and to establish collective bargaining for both public and private employees.
- Work to promote an economic program that gives our members and other workers a continued opportunity to earn a living which will allow them to support themselves, their families and achieve the dream of buying a home and educating their family.
- I will support bills for a prevailing wage, and that incorporate apprenticeships into PLAs for sizeable contracts.
- Protect unemployment benefits and worker compensation rights. and emphasize jobsite safety by protecting and improving local, state and federal laws.
- Support federal, state and local appropriations for public infrastructure and services, including road construction, schools, public electric power projects and other important public projects. Additionally, support “Buy American” policies for infrastructure and projects over a threshold supported by the state.
- Begin to work on language and support for restructuring Utah Title 34 similar to Michigan’s 2023 HB4004 that overturned their “right-to-work” law in favor of workers’ rights.
Federal Bills To Watch
- S567 Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Rights to Organize (PRO) Act will expand labor protections for employees’ rights to organize and for collective bargaining in the workplace.
- S1376 Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act prohibits a predispute arbitration agreement from being valid or enforceable if it requires arbitration of an employment, consumer, antitrust, or civil rights dispute.
We are facing anti-union actions from a national level to degrade unions in Utah. Groups like Workers for Opportunity and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are engaging with conservative legislators to introduce legislation veiled as “worker freedom”, but in reality represent a furthering of “right-to-work” policies that weaken labor laws and tear down worker rights. Unions are one of the most important tools to address the disparity of wealth distribution, and a legitimate tool to manage the welfare and way of life for Utahns.
- We all should be able to exercise our 1st amendment freedom of association
- According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), about 1 in 10 people are union members nationally. The BLS reported that across the country, the union membership rate of public-sector workers (32.5%) continued to be more than five times higher than the rate of private-sector workers (6%). (Source)
- The highest unionization rates were among workers in education, training, and libraries (32.7%) and law enforcement (31.9%) — all public sector occupations. (Source)