Openness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder for government officials. This is clear in the discussions — some might call them grumblings — of proposed raises for state employees included in Gov. Jay Inslee’s budget after contract negotiations between his staff and the heads of the employees’ unions.
Republicans, who generally don’t much care for unions, are questioning the raises but are particularly peeved at the way they are negotiated. That is to say, without their sage wisdom and input. Legislators get the negotiated contracts and vote them up or down as part of the budget process. If the latter, the unions and governor’s staff go back to the table.
This is what the law specifies, but there are some problems with it. If, for example, a governor has received significant support from the unions in his or her election campaigns, there are always suggestions that the staff isn’t tough enough in bargaining. And if the Legislature gives the contracts thumbs down, new ones have to be negotiated, so the old contract stays in place and this all comes up again the following year.
Republicans have proposed opening up the negotiation sessions, not just to the Legislature or some subset of designees, but to the public. Think of the prospects: TVW could fit contract talks into its schedule when the Legislature is out of town and programming options are thin. Reporters could sit in the background and tweet each side’s opening offers on salaries or pensions or vacation rules, setting off a Twitter war among followers for and against.