<p>After two weeks of protests at the Utah state capitol, the state has banned collective bargaining for teachers, police officers, firefighters and other public employees, a move unions have vowed to fight.</p><p>Utah's Governor Spencer Cox, a Republican, signed the ban even as protests continued outside the state capitol in Salt Lake City demanded he veto the controversial bill.</p><p>Federal law protects the collective bargaining rights of workers in the private sector, but determining labor law for public employees is up to the states.</p><p>Supporters of the law argued that labor unions were inherently political and that allowing them to engage in collective bargaining on behalf of public employees presented a conflict of interest and could burden the taxpayer.</p><p>Scores of members of the Utah's largest teachers union, the Utah Education Association, which represents 18,000 public school educators, held a silent protest outside Cox's office as he signed the bill.</p>.TikTok’s live video feature 'encouraged sexual content', 'groomed' minors, Utah AG claims.<p>In a statement following the governor’s signature, the association said Cox and the state lawmakers had “ignored the voices of thousands.”</p><p>Opposition groups promised to fight on with a possible ballot measure to overturn the law. The law, which its critics say is anti-labor, goes into effect July 1.</p><p>“Looks like Utah will become the most anti-labor state in America,” Jack Tidrow, president of the Professional Firefighters of Utah said in a statement. “Pathetic.”</p><p>The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jordan Teuscher, a Republican, said in a statement Saturday that Republican lawmakers were pleased to see the governor sign the bill.</p><p>"This bill upholds democratic principles and expands individual freedoms for Utah’s dedicated public employees,” he wrote, adding that the law does not eliminate unions.</p><p>“Teachers and other public employees will still have the right to organize, advocate for themselves, and receive union support," he wrote.</p><p>Teuscher introduced the bill January 18, and it passed the house just over a week later and the Senate February 6.</p><p>Republicans have 61 seats in the Utah legislature, giving them a supermajority.</p>
<p>After two weeks of protests at the Utah state capitol, the state has banned collective bargaining for teachers, police officers, firefighters and other public employees, a move unions have vowed to fight.</p><p>Utah's Governor Spencer Cox, a Republican, signed the ban even as protests continued outside the state capitol in Salt Lake City demanded he veto the controversial bill.</p><p>Federal law protects the collective bargaining rights of workers in the private sector, but determining labor law for public employees is up to the states.</p><p>Supporters of the law argued that labor unions were inherently political and that allowing them to engage in collective bargaining on behalf of public employees presented a conflict of interest and could burden the taxpayer.</p><p>Scores of members of the Utah's largest teachers union, the Utah Education Association, which represents 18,000 public school educators, held a silent protest outside Cox's office as he signed the bill.</p>.TikTok’s live video feature 'encouraged sexual content', 'groomed' minors, Utah AG claims.<p>In a statement following the governor’s signature, the association said Cox and the state lawmakers had “ignored the voices of thousands.”</p><p>Opposition groups promised to fight on with a possible ballot measure to overturn the law. The law, which its critics say is anti-labor, goes into effect July 1.</p><p>“Looks like Utah will become the most anti-labor state in America,” Jack Tidrow, president of the Professional Firefighters of Utah said in a statement. “Pathetic.”</p><p>The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jordan Teuscher, a Republican, said in a statement Saturday that Republican lawmakers were pleased to see the governor sign the bill.</p><p>"This bill upholds democratic principles and expands individual freedoms for Utah’s dedicated public employees,” he wrote, adding that the law does not eliminate unions.</p><p>“Teachers and other public employees will still have the right to organize, advocate for themselves, and receive union support," he wrote.</p><p>Teuscher introduced the bill January 18, and it passed the house just over a week later and the Senate February 6.</p><p>Republicans have 61 seats in the Utah legislature, giving them a supermajority.</p>