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Editorial: Labor talks bill would allow public to weigh in

Sun., May 24, 2015

A better-late-than-never bill to bring transparency to state labor negotiations was introduced last week, and could help break the deadlock over whether contracts bargained last year will be funded this year.

About two dozen employee contracts that would cost nearly $600 million were included in the governor’s budget for the 2015-17 biennium. Legislators take up or down votes on secretly negotiated contracts, and cannot amend them.

Efforts to introduce transparency to collective bargaining failed last year, and again this year during the regular session. Sen. Andy Hill, the chief budget writer in the Republican-controlled Senate, has indicated the Senate would be willing to fund the contracts in exchange for opening the process to public scrutiny.

Hence, SB 6126, which was introduced by Sen. John Braun, R-Chehalis, will get a hearing in front of the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday. The bill incorporates many of the provisions in similar bills that have failed to advance.

The Legislature dropped a veil over labor negotiations more than 10 years ago by granting an exemption to the Public Records Act. Braun’s bill would end the secret talks and provide the public a way to follow along as negotiators work on deals that taxpayers ultimately finance.

The contracts negotiated by the state involve salaries, pensions and benefits that run into the billions of dollars. The impact on the public is undeniable, so timely information is a reasonable request.

The current exemption blocks the release of records until the Legislature and the governor approve contracts. All citizens can do is weigh in after the fact; that is, if they can find detailed information.

Under SB 6126, the Office of Financial Management is directed to create a website that hosts all bargaining agreements with easy-to-understand summaries. The contracts would be available before the Legislature acts on them.

More importantly, the negotiations themselves would be open to the public. Currently, government and labor representatives bargain in secret. Even legislators are kept in the dark. The bill would compel the executive branch, which conducts the negotiations, to update legislators periodically.

Proponents of closed-door bartering say it allows participants to be frank, but opening the door exposes negotiators to the people who pay the bills. It’s the only way the public can know if its interests are being represented. Open meetings would also highlight sticking points between workers and management and whether those affect the public.

This year, Idaho legislators voted unanimously to open collective bargaining to the public. Not a single lawmaker bought the secrecy-begets-honesty argument. Colorado voters adopted a similar measure in 2014. Other states already have transparent processes.

Washington’s situation isn’t unique. Open the door.