SALT LAKE CITY — Referendum supporters are making their final push this weekend to get HB 267, which bans public employee collective bargaining, on the November 2026 ballot.
On Sunday, the campaign brought canvassers to the steps of the Huntsman Center.
The focus may have been on a different Sanders there, as Bernie and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took center stage.
But for Janet Sanders, their visit presented one more opportunity in "crunch time" to gather signatures ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.
“I mostly have been focused on the southwest part of the valley, but I’ve also gone to Heber, went to an event there, went to Park City,” said Sanders, the president of the Jordan Education Association.
The Protect Utah Workers coalition said they gathered 130,000 out of the 140,000 signatures by the end of March.
WATCH: 130,000 signatures so far on referendum to overturn Utah's ban on public employee collective bargaining
“But we can never get enough,” Sanders said.
They wouldn’t release updated numbers since then, with a coalition spokesperson saying it’s because of the opposition campaign working to convince people to remove their names.
But more than 5,000 people volunteered to help their public sector unions.
“I think we need to support them,” said Kathy Gardner, who is among those volunteers. “They take care of us; we should take care of them.”
Gardner is doing what she can as a retiree in Salt Lake City.
“Now I have time and the gift of gab, which helps!” she said with a chuckle.
Their persistence hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“I’ve absolutely been asked to sign the petition since the day it came out — at least 30 times,” said Pam Harrison, who lives in Ogden and was visiting for the rally.
But they sense a good energy around this effort.
“I think it kind of shows a disconnect between what’s going on in the legislature and public opinion,” said Janet Sanders.
Sanders hopes she’s gotten enough pens to paper to let the voters decide what is best for Utah’s workers.
“These are good civic servants for the rest of us, and we need to treat them well,” Harrison said.
