Utah has its first union of public library employees.
Salt Lake City library workers voted overwhelmingly, 92% of eligible employees to be exact, to form a union this week. The election caps a big week for public union organizers in the Beehive State after a referendum effort to overturn a bill that would prohibit public-sector collective bargaining gathered enough signatures to qualify for the 2026 ballot.
“We, as workers, are looking forward to negotiating our first contract,” associate librarian Christina Ordonez said in a news release. “We’ve always been here for our community, and we finally have the tools to advocate for ourselves and for each other.”
The library union will affiliate with the national American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or the AFSCME, which also represents some other Salt Lake City staffers. The union election comes after the City Council approved guardrails for the unionization process in February.
Back then, it was unclear how exactly HB267, the anti-collective bargaining bill passed by the Utah Legislature, would shake out.
Now, it’s likely that law will be put on hold once the clock runs out for referendum opponents seeking to get signers to take their names off of the petition.
Some Salt Lake City librarians first announced their intent to form a union in April 2023. Organizers say they’re looking for more sway in library decision-making on safety concerns, health care benefits and wages.
Under the resolution paving the path for unionization, full- and part-time library employees will be eligible to join.
The union will start negotiating its first collective bargaining agreement next. Library leaders have previously said they expect the agreement on working conditions to be hammered out by fiscal 2027.
County clerks in Utah have verified more than 140,000 signatures gathered by a coalition of labor groups in support of putting HB267 to a statewide referendum.
“We are moving forward in the hopes that Utahns will vote in the best interests of their public workers,” local AFSCME President Jerry Philpot said in a news release. “This isn’t just about union rights — it’s about protecting the people who serve our communities every single day.”
