The Utah Education Association (UEA) and other labor unions are urging Gov. Spencer Cox to veto HB267, legislation that strips collective bargaining rights from all public employees.
The math is simple. The bill didn’t pass with a veto-proof majority in the Utah House or Senate, so Cox’s signature is all that stands between it becoming law.
The opposition to the bill from labor unions has prompted some speculation that Utah teachers could put pressure on Cox to use his veto stamp by going on strike. So far, there have been no public threats or discussion of any sort of work stoppage.
For the UEA to even take such a step would be extraordinary – Utah teachers have gone on strike only twice before in more than six decades.
In May 1964, a two-day walkout by Utah teachers was one of the first statewide teacher strikes in the United States.
The work stoppage was part of a year-long dispute over school funding. Teachers were leaving the state in droves due to low salaries, and half of the state's teaching positions were filled by people who lacked proper certification. School buildings were falling into such disrepair that the roofs of some schools collapsed. Educators were refusing to sign contracts for the next school year, and the National Education Association sanctioned Utah's education system, the first time that the organization took such action.
Amid this crisis, The Utah Education Association voted 231-7 to call for a two-day public school "recess" after then-Gov. George Clyde refused to call a special legislative session to appropriate an additional $6 million in school funding.
The Utah State Board of Education called the teacher walkout a “clear breach of contract” and a court order was issued prohibiting UEA officials from encouraging members to continue the walkout.
In July 1964, the state’s 10,000 public school teachers voted to resume contract negotiations.
In September 1989, about 20,000 teachers walked out for one day to protest the legislature’s decision to use a $38 million budget surplus for a tax cut instead of putting the money toward education. The one-day walkout shut down most of the school districts in the state, affecting more than 450,000 students in 800 schools.
Before the walkout, then-Gov. Norm Bangerter angered teachers when he said when he gets upset, “I take two aspirin and go to work, and that’s what teachers do.”
In 1987, Bangerter successfully pushed for a $166 million tax increase to better fund education which prompted significant backlash. After he barely won re-election in 1988, Bangerter pledged to reduce taxes. 1988 also happened to be the same year Utah started its streak of being ranked at or near last place among all states in per-pupil funding.
In 1990, Utah teachers came close to a statewide strike but backed off after lawmakers last-minute education funding increases which included a $1,000 pay raise for teachers and a 4% increase in per-pupil funding.
Recent teacher strikes have been highly effective. A comprehensive study of nearly 800 teacher strikes between 2007 and 2o23 shows they led to significant gains for educators.
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