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The Utah Transit Authority spent at least $37,706 on consultants as it worked to persuade a group of 44 TRAX supervisors to reject proposed representation by the Teamsters Union.

That is more than the annual compensation of 576 UTA employees last year, according to the public disclosure website UtahsRight.com. And the union contends it may have gone for just a week of work each by what it calls two "union-buster" consultants.

"I think that $37,000 is a ton of money to be spending on anything, but especially for that," said Britt Miller, business agent for Teamsters Local 222. "I'm in the wrong end of this business, it would appear."

The agency may or may not be on the hook for more money, but is declining to comment on the exact financial arrangements made with the consultants. UTA also is saying only in broad terms what services they provided.

UTA previously denied an open-records request by The Salt Lake Tribune for contracts with Labor Relations Institute (LRI) or its employees. An appeal to UTA President and CEO Jerry Benson sustained that denial, but he chose to reveal how much had been paid up to Sept. 9 when the initial request was made.

"The total amount paid by UTA under this particular contract to date of the request is $37,705.94," it said.

Benson said Utah law allows it to deny access to the contract because it "would reveal protected information regarding UTA's collective bargaining strategies." He said it also could affect pending litigation because courts still could consider post-election matters after the Teamsters lost the unionization vote Sept. 13.

The Tribune has appealed that denial to the state Records Committee.

The newspaper also sent several questions to UTA seeking more information beyond the spending amount supplied, including what specific services LRI provided; exact financial arrangements, including whether more will be paid; whether the agency hired other similar consultants; and what UTA sees as the benefits of such expenditures.

UTA spokesman Remi Barron noted in an email reply that The Tribune has argued in its appeal to the state Records Committee that the contract should be released because it would answer such questions about how taxpayer money is being spent.

"Most of these questions pertain to that appeal and are appropriately reserved for that forum," he wrote.

But, he said, "LRI is the only consultant UTA hired for the election." He added, "Because union elections are infrequent and governed by strict rules, UTA hired LRI to help it navigate the union election appropriately."

However, Miller said some supervisors told his union that two LRI employees — Rebecca Marie Smith and Stephen Wardrop — spent a week each in Utah trying to persuade them to vote against union representation.

The LRI website offers a video preview of presentations by Smith, whom it calls a former labor organizer who "warns the average employee is very unlikely to learn the truth about unions until it is too late. She explains how the union works in real life."

Wardrop lists himself on LinkedIn as an executive vice president at LRI.

LRI's website describes the firm's services saying, "From the crucible of over 10,000 union campaigns, LRI knows what makes employees susceptible to the siren song of union organizers" and how to overcome that.