SLC librarians are pushing for a union. A state bill could put the effort back on the shelf.​on February 6, 2025 at 1:10 pm

As state lawmakers scrutinize public sector unions, one could be forming just down the hill in Utah’s capital.

​As state legislators look to limit public sector unions, an effort to organize library staffers notched a win at the Salt Lake City Council.  

As state lawmakers scrutinize public sector unions, one could be forming just down the hill in Utah’s capital.

Led by Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, and Sen. Kirk Cullimore, R-Cottonwood Heights, some Republican legislators are looking to limit the power of public employee unions in the Beehive State.

That hasn’t stopped a union push among Salt Lake City’s librarians, though. City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve a resolution setting the guardrails for unionization.

“When we’re allowed to organize and advocate collectively, we’re coming together and saying, ‘We’re a majority of staff; we all think that this needs to change,’” said Bryce Hays, a librarian at the city’s Glendale Branch and a member of the union organizing committee. “That’s just a lot more effective and gets the attention of management or leadership.”

HB267 has sparked intense opposition and drawn the ire of Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall. The latest version of the measure prevents government agencies from bargaining with unions that represent their employees. An earlier iteration allowed public organizations to collectively bargain with a class of their workers if a majority of them voted to recognize a union once every five years.

The push for a library union kicked off in 2023 when a group of workers announced they were organizing with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which also represents some other city staffers. The proposed union would be the first for library workers in Utah.

Hays said library staffers are pursuing a union in hopes of boosting wages, improving health benefits, addressing long-held safety concerns and gaining more say in how the city’s branches are run.

Before Tuesday’s meeting, the Salt Lake City Library board had already approved a labor resolution providing a road map for unionization.

“I am proud that the library is deeply committed to caring for and supporting its staff members,” board chair Sariah Toronto told the City Council last month. “This resolution is the latest development in the dialogue between the Salt Lake City Public Library and some of its employees regarding their desire to pursue unionization.”

The resolution recognizes the right of both full- and part-time library workers to join the proposed union, establishes that a majority of the eligible employees must want to form the union and spells out how the parties would approach an impasse in negotiations.

It does not address specific working conditions. Those would be hammered out in collective bargaining.

“Appreciation to everyone for the work, time and energy that has gone into this,” City Council member Sarah Young said at the meeting. “… [I] really look forward to seeing it all the way across the finish line to the benefit of the library employees.”

The council’s decision comes as lawmakers debate a bill that seeks to limit the power of the state’s public sector unions. As of Wednesday afternoon, the newest version of HB267 would strip the right to collectively bargain from public employees, requires labor organizations to report how they spend dues, and prohibits using public dollars to sway opinion about unions.

The next move for library employees will be to petition for a union. Library leadership estimates the first collective bargaining agreement could be signed and ready for fiscal 2027.

But HB267, if passed and signed by Gov. Spencer Cox in its current form, could grind the process to a halt.

“It’s annoying to me,” Hays said of HB267, “Because if it does pass, it would mean that all the work we’ve been doing the past three years will have essentially been for nothing.”