Every person should be free to spend their hard-earned paycheck as they desire. If the Utah Legislature takes away the rights of some workers, simply because they work in the public service, they reduce them to second-class citizens in the eyes of our state. HB 241 limits our ability to speak up for the services we provide, our safety on the job and the taxpayers we serve. We oppose this bill because we want to move forward, not backward, in employee rights and public service efficiency.

We need to all speak up about how this legislation would impact us. Click here to record a short video about how this legislation would hurt the work you do and why the legislature should vote down this bad bill. 

• This is an attack on public service workers simply because they are public service workers. As with many workplaces, there are hundreds of charitable and professional voluntary deductions that employees can make through their paychecks. Singling out union dues for exclusion reveals the legislation’s goal – to strip workers of the freedom to decide what they do with their own paycheck.
• It is in opposition to our state’s values. Fairness is an essential value for Utahans. If the Boy Scouts can hold meetings in public buildings, so too should a hardworking plumber. If the time and space are available to hold a bake sale to support an organization, a compliance enforcement officer should have the same freedom of access for their organization. And a sanitation worker should have the freedom to deduct money from their paycheck to the organization they choose.  
• Public service workers strengthen our communities. Teachers negotiate for smaller class sizes so our children have a better learning environment. Nurses negotiate for better patient-to-staff ratios that keep us all healthy. Municipal workers bargain for the equipment they need to keep us all safe. 
• Unions make the economy better for all. When employees are free to join a union, whole communities win. The “union difference” is real, for both union and non-union workers. When union families bargain for better wages, it lifts the wages other employers pay to fill jobs. When union families win better health care, health and safety provisions, job security, scheduling, childcare benefits, even basic respect, those wins are also felt by workers at other jobs.
• Attacks are a distraction from good governance. The goal is to keep union members focused on not losing what they have. Much to the pleasure of special interests behind this type of legislation, this bill distracts public service employees from advocating for better, safer and more efficient public services. The weaker their voice at work, the weaker their voice everywhere.

Sign this petition to urge your legislators to OPPOSE this anti-worker bill and STOP efforts to move our state backward! 

We don’t want to return to the days where favoritism rules public sector jobs. By passing barriers to effectively enforce a legal agreement we are weakening our very freedoms on the job. And we are opening the door to waste, fraud and abuse by those who want to use our tax dollars, our public assets and even the very jobs that exist to keep our communities running for their own gain. 

Thank you for taking action and keep checking back here to find more ways you can take action!