Our Views: Shine Light on Closed-Door Negotiations for State Employees

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 State Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, continues to push an issue of great financial importance to the taxpayers of this state, who are seeing the use of millions of their dollars debated and decided upon behind closed doors. 

As the senator noted in a press release earlier this week, state employees are currently bargaining on state contracts for the 2017-19 biennium with little to no oversight. That’s because collective bargaining for state employees is a process completed behind closed doors.

The meetings are exempt from the Open Public Meetings Act, a law that provides the public with a transparent safeguard for learning about — or even taking part in — what their government leaders are doing with taxpayer money. 

“Washington does a better job than most states when it comes to open government,” Braun said. “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.”

It has long been an issue for Braun, a lawmaker who has had a laser-like focus on matters related to safeguarding the public’s money and its right to know since he arrived in Olympia in January 2013.

In the most recent session, he sponsored Senate Bill 5329, which would open the collective bargaining process up for the public. It failed to gain enough traction to be passed into law during the short session.

We share Braun’s hope for change on the matter in the future.

As the Republican senator has said again and again, other states have already made the move for reasons of transparency. There’s no reason for Washington not to follow suit, at least in terms of what would be best for taxpayers.



The current process also risks becoming political fodder for office-holders such as Gov. Jay Inslee, who can curry favor from thousands of state workers simply by caving to their demands, regardless of whether their demands are what’s best for the state as a whole.

It’s an election year, after all, and Inslee is facing a strong challenger in the form of Republican Bill Bryant, a successful businessman and moderate politician who serves as a commissioner with the Port of Seattle.

Every vote will count. That doesn’t make buying them OK. 

“The timing is probably a coincidence, but it serves as a reminder that the governor’s people are negotiating behind closed doors with organizations that not only represent state workers but also have political agendas as well,” Braun said.

We know from experience that what’s best for taxpayers isn’t necessarily what’s best for state employees.

It’s time for these secret negotiations to come to an end.