It’s the latest in a monthslong saga related to HB267, a controversial law passed this legislative session that prohibits public unions from collective bargaining.

Now, a group of 20 unions called the Protect Utah Workers coalition is one step closer to handing the issue over to voters through a ballot referendum, where citizens can vote on new laws, or repeal existing ones, during elections.

Forcing a referendum in Utah is no walk in the park. Per state code, a group has 30 days to gather signatures from 8% of Utah voters, including 8% of the voters in at least 15 of the state’s 29 Senate districts.

That 8% figure roughly equates to 141,000 signatures. The announcement of 320,000 signatures Wednesday shatters that threshold, making the effort to overturn HB267 one of the most successful in state history.

“We are on track to become not only the most successful citizen-led referendum in Utah history, but one of the most successful in our nation’s history,” said John Arthur, a sixth grade teacher at Meadowlark Elementary School in Salt Lake City. “We didn’t just meet our goal, we doubled it.”

Arthur spoke on Wednesday during a media event outside the Salt Lake County Government building, after the coalition turned over boxes containing thousands of signature packets to County Clerk Lannie Chapman’s office.

“It’s certainly the biggest referendum effort I’ve ever seen,” Chapman said after the media event. For reference, a successful tax reform referendum in 2020 gathered about 155,000 signatures.

Chapman’s team now has 21 days to verify the packets and confirm the signatures come from registered voters who live in Salt Lake County — the same goes for county clerks around the state. Once verified, the voter’s name will be made publicly available, opening a 45-day window where the voter can choose to rescind their support for the referendum, if they choose.

When the county clerks are done, the lieutenant governor’s office will then review the process. Assuming the coalition has complied with state code and gathered enough valid signatures, ballot language will be crafted for the 2026 General Election.

It’s likely some of the signatures will be deemed invalid — some people may have signed twice, aren’t registered to vote, gave an incorrect address, or have illegible handwriting.

Plus, groups like the Utah chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a conservative policy and advocacy organization, have launched their own campaign in support of HB267. Called “Decline to Sign,” the group will continue to advocate against the referendum during the 45-day window where voters can retract their signatures.

But with a cushion of almost 180,000 signatures, the coalition is feeling confident the fate of HB267 will be left to voters.

“Politicians came after public workers and the public got to work,” said Arthur. “Now the people of Utah will get to decide what kind of state we’re going to be.”

Signed by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox in February, HB267 prevents public unions from collective bargaining, the process where unions meet with employers to negotiate a contract or terms of employment. The bill takes effect July 1, 2025.

Come July, a teachers union will no longer be allowed to negotiate an employment contract with a school district. The same goes for firefighters, police officers, municipal workers and other public employees.

Lawmakers say the bill will protect taxpayer dollars while giving all public employees a voice, not just union members. If a teachers union only represents one third of the employees in a school district, it shouldn’t be able to negotiate employment contracts on behalf of everyone, said the bill sponsors, Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, and Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore, R-Sandy.

Currently, just Salt Lake City’s police and fire departments, and a handful of the state’s school districts, have unions that engage in collective bargaining.

“More than 99% of all the (public) unions that currently exist today do not do collective bargaining,” said Cullimore earlier this year. “All the services that they provide their members, the services they provide employees, all the education and training that they do, will still be available.”

But labor groups and members of the public were staunchly opposed to the bill, which narrowly passed out of the Legislature. That opposition morphed into the Protect Utah Workers coalition — among them are the Utah State Fraternal Order of Police, the Utah Education Association, Professional Firefighters of Utah, Teamsters Local 222, the Salt Lake Valley Law Enforcement Association, United Mine Workers and more.

“To the sponsors and supporters of HB267, you are not representing the best interest of public employees or your constituents,” said Kevin Murray, president of the Utah State Fraternal Order of Police. “The groundswell of support we’ve seen during this signature gathering event makes one thing clear– this community stands united, and we will be heard.”

Since the effort began on March 15, roughly 5,000 union members and volunteers have hit the streets, gathering signatures at coffee shops, grocery stores, museums, college campuses, congressional town halls, bus stops, tattoo parlors, TRAX stations, sporting events and protests. Over 30 days, they collected nearly 10,600 signatures each day.

“This is what solidarity looks like, a coalition of 19 labor unions came together: firefighters, police officers, educators, nurses, miners, food workers, all in support of this. We knocked doors, hosted events, braved bad weather just to spread the word. And we could not have done it without everyone who stepped up,” said Donnavan Minutes, a firefighter for Salt Lake City.

Utah News Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.