April 15 is the final day Utahns can sign petitions for the “Protect Utah Workers” referendum, and organizers are planning to submit their signature packets the following day to county clerks to be verified.
“This is the big push this last week,” said Renee Pinkney, president of the Utah Education Association. “We’re in the home stretch, and we need people to get out to the various events, and we still need people to sign petitions right up until April 15.”
UEA, AFL-CIO, Utah Public Employees Association, Utah Professional Firefighters, AFSCME and others have banded together in an attempt to repeal HB267, which bans collective bargaining with government employers — meaning those public employee unions cannot represent members in contract negotiations.
“We’re coming down to the wire and its always one of those ‘hold your breath, here you go guys’ [things],” said Jeff Worthing, president of the Utah AFL-CIO. “You just pray that everyone has done the right process in getting the signatures and that they all verify out, because if they don’t … then it was all for naught, so it can be a little nerve-wracking.”
During the final week, Pinkney said organizers are trying to ensure volunteers who have taken packets out remember to return them, whether the packets are full of signatures or not.
Utah has the most onerous referendum law in the country. To get a repeal measure on the ballot, supporters have 30 days to gather signatures from 8% of the registered voters statewide — equating to 140,748 people — as well as meet that same 8% threshold in 15 of the state’s 29 Senate districts. Those targets range from about 3,000 to 5,700, depending on the district.
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This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.