SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah has repealed a collective bargaining ban passed earlier this year that prevented labor unions serving teachers, firefighters, police and other public employees from negotiating on behalf of their workers.

Republican Gov. Spencer Cox on Thursday approved the repeal of a policy that experts had called one of the most restrictive labor laws in the country.

The state’s Republican-controlled Legislature originally approved the policy in February, saying it was needed to allow employers to engage directly with all employees, instead of communicating through a union representative. Thousands of union members from the public and private sector rallied outside Cox’s office for a week, urging him to veto the bill, which he decided to sign.

Pushback continued in the months after it became law, with the Legislature ultimately deciding on a reversal during a special session this month.

Republican state Rep. Jordan Teuscher, the original House sponsor, said the repeal “allows us to step back, to lower the temperature and to create space for a clearer and more constructive conversation.”

He maintained that it was a “good policy” that has been “overshadowed by misinformation and unnecessary division.”

The decision comes as Utah Republicans are preparing to defend their four U.S. House seats in the 2026 midterm elections under a new congressional map that creates a heavily Democratic-leaning district in the Salt Lake City area.

A repeal helps Republicans appease the many police officers and firefighters — groups that often lean conservative — who were frustrated by the ban.

State employees were still allowed to join unions under the law, but the unions could not formally negotiate on their behalf for better wages and working conditions.

Many public educators, the state’s most frequent users of collective bargaining, viewed the policy as way for Republicans to weaken teachers unions and clear a path for their own education agenda.

Teachers unions have been outspoken opponents of Republican policies in Utah and other states where lawmakers have sought to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, expand school choice vouchers and restrict transgender bathroom use and sports participation in schools.

Union leaders celebrated the repeal and the work of their members who rallied opposition to the law.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, and Brad Asay, the Utah chapter leader, called the repeal “a historic step in the right direction to return respect and dignity to the workers of Utah.”

Hannah Schoenbaum, The Associated Press