Salt Lake City votes to allow new library union, but will it be held up by proposed law?
Librarians in Salt Lake City have been given the final clearance to unionize, marking a first for the state.
Members of the Salt Lake City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve a resolution that creates a collective bargaining structure process for Salt Lake City Library employees. A group of employees who eagerly watched from the gallery applauded after the vote.
But city leaders and union officials both agree that a bill addressing unions in the public sector moving through the Utah Legislature could muddle its implementation.
'It's certainly going to complicate things depending on which version of that bill passes,' Salt Lake City Council Chairman Chris Wharton told KSL.com before the vote.
City librarians announced their intent to unionize in April 2023, citing 'long-standing issues' tied to the job, including safety concerns and below-average wages. It was, at the time, the largest branch of city employees not represented by a union.
Their request sparked a long process that ended with the Salt Lake City Public Library System Board of Directors voting in December to approve a resolution to allow employees to unionize. The board approved an amended version last week to reflect changes tied to the city government's involvement in the process.
While the city's public library system sets its policies and operations separately from the rest of the city government, the City Council approves the system's budget and tax rate requests. It meant that city leaders were required to sign off on the measure, which is what Tuesday's resolution vote accomplished.
In a statement before the vote, Jerry Philpott, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1004, called the measure a long time coming.
'We are so excited to finalize the union recognition process and move forward with a respectful and collaborative relationship with management that will benefit everyone in the library system,' he said.
However, it will take time for librarians to formally unionize, and a potential new state law could make it difficult to implement.
Salt Lake City doesn't expect the library collective bargaining agreement to take effect until the 2027 fiscal year at the earliest, based on an estimate of how long it will take for librarians to certify a unionization vote and other formalities yet to be finalized, according to a memo to the City Council.
Meanwhile, state leaders are still considering HB267, a bill that would limit unions within public entities, including a ban on public employers from entering into collective bargaining contracts.
The bill cleared the Utah House of Representatives with a 42-32 vote on Jan. 27 before a Senate committee voted to advance it with a narrow 4-3 vote two days later. It was slated to be voted by the full Senate body on Friday, but it was held without a vote as it goes through possible revisions.
Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, told reporters Monday that lawmakers were still sorting out potential revisions before it goes to a full Senate vote. If approved, it would go into effect on July 1 — barring any future holdups.
It's gained ire from teachers' and first responders' unions, as well as other impacted unions like the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Philpott added that the organization is still working to prevent the bill from going into law.
'It would be devastating for so much time and effort to be erased with the swipe of a pen,' he said.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall has also called on the Utah Legislature to vote against the bill. She referenced it during her State of the City address last week, saying that it wouldn't 'strip away my commitment to treating our workers fairly, to competitive compensation or to equitable benefits.'
Wharton said Tuesday that the City Council is tracking to see how everything plays out, but its members feel the same as the mayor. He pointed out Tuesday that a new law could be put to the test with the city's upcoming contract negotiations with police officers this year, while other departments aren't up for new contracts until future fiscal years.
'We'll follow the law — whatever law the Legislature passes,' he said. 'But we'll also continue to work with our representative employees and our labor unions to try to make sure that we're doing the best we can for working families.'
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