Why was government established in Washington? Our state Constitution, in its first section and article says “to protect and maintain individual rights.” The July 20 editorial, “Shine light on negotiations: Contract talks between governor, public unions shouldn’t be conducted in secret,” points out our government fails to do that.
Our elected officials awarded monopoly status to private entities to represent government workers as exclusive bargaining agents. These government unions and the government then negotiate secretly for contracts determining what workers will do and how much taxpayers will pay, and no record is available. This does not protect or maintain the individual rights of taxpayers or government workers, and our Legislature cannot see how it transpired. “Look, over there” — it’s an unelected fourth branch of government: unions dictating state operations and taxes.
Open government laws allow taxpayers to see for themselves the work of their elected representatives. Workers required to pay fees or dues “as a condition of employment” to be represented by government unions could see the value of the services those monopolies claim they provide.
The Columbian could do a great public service with a series of stories comparing and contrasting government with private-sector unions.
