SALT LAKE CITY — Roughly a thousand union members packed the Utah State Capitol rotunda on Friday, chanting and singing and calling on Governor Spencer Cox to veto a bill they say is "union busting."
House Bill 267 strips public employee unions of their collective bargaining rights, but does not remove their right to organize and advocate. It also offers teachers liability insurance instead of going through the union.
The rotunda was filled with teachers, firefighters, pilots, municipal and construction workers. At the demonstration's peak, the Utah Highway Patrol told FOX 13 News the crowd was about 1,000.
Video shows hundreds rallying in Utah State Capitol:
"Veto! Veto! Veto!" they chanted as organizers urged the crowd to get more involved in state politics, including attending political party caucuses and conventions to vote out anti-union lawmakers.
The lawmakers who voted for the bill insist that public employee unions' collective bargaining is not in the interest of taxpayers. They had offered unions a deal that preserved some of their collective bargaining rights, but many of those unions were divided on whether to take it and some said their members overwhelmingly opposed it. The House and Senate were flooded with constituent communications over the bill.
Over 1,000 people rally inside Utah State Capitol below:
It passed the Senate on Thursday on a close 16-13 vote and went to Gov. Cox's desk.
Late Friday, the governor's office said he had received the bill and will be reviewing the legislative details as soon as possible.
