Utah Lawmakers have voted overwhelmingly in a special session to strike a controversial new law barring Public Employees from collective bargaining. The move came less than a year after Republican Legislators narrowly voted to pass it, several months after Labor Unions broke signature-gathering records as they mounted a referendum effort to repeal the law and only weeks ahead of the Legislature’s 2026 General Session. Under Utah law, a referendum is automatically voided after lawmakers repeal the law it’s challenging. So, the question of whether to keep the law will no longer appear alongside the approximately 90 legislative contests on ballots next November. The Bill passed easily in the House of Representatives, with nine of the most Conservative Republicans in the body breaking from their caucus to vote “nay.” In the Senate, everyone except one Republican voted to repeal. Ahead of the special session, Protect Utah Workers - the Coalition formed to organize the referendum, celebrated its expected demise as a win. “I’m appreciative that the Legislature listened to the people,” said Utah Education Association President Renee Pinkney, attributing Lawmakers’ turnaround to the more than 250,000 valid signatures added to referendum petitions.

Editor’s Note: This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state. To read Emily Anderson Stern's full report visit sltrib.com.

To Read The Rest Of This Labor News Report, Go To: Utah lawmakers repeal anti-public union law rather than face November vote — but future uncertain