Sen. Braun Calls for Transparency in Collective Bargaining Meetings

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As negotiations started last week on state worker contracts for the 2017-19 biennium, Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, hopes it’s the last time the talks are held behind closed doors.

This year, Braun was a sponsor of Senate Bill 5329, which would require collective bargaining meetings to be open to the public, stated a press release.

“Washington does a better job than most states when it comes to open government,” Braun said in the release. “However, the exemption of state-employee collective bargaining from the Open Public Meetings Act is something that needs to be changed. The last time these contracts were negotiated it resulted in a 300-million-dollar commitment from taxpayers without their input.”

The meetings are taking place while statewide election campaigning is in full-swing.

Braun said the timing is most likely a coincidence, but he said it serves as a reminder that Gov. Jay Inslee’s staff is negotiating out of the public view with organizations that represent state workers and also have political agendas.



“Other states are successfully engaging the public in these decisions and I don’t see why Washington shouldn’t do the same,” said Braun. “Our current system does not allow for any deviation from the commitments made in secret between the governor and public-employee unions.”

The Legislature can only approve or reject the agreements, Braun said.

“That wasn’t the case before 2004 and if the people’s representatives are unable to give input on the contracts, we should at least have transparency in the process,” he said.

Braun filed for re-election to the 20th Legislative District last week. He is running unopposed.