SB 5575 would expand union influence on transit agency boards and diminish public accountability

SB 5575, a bill introduced this session, would require Public Transportation Benefit Area (PTBA) boards to make a labor union appointee a voting member (currently the union board member is non-voting).

It would also require transit boards to let the union representative attend board executive sessions except those specifically about labor contracts. When I spoke before a hearing of the House Transportation Committee last week I recommended a different approach to improving transit agency governance.  Here’s a summary of the research findings I presented:

• Labor unions are already fully involved in transit agency planning and they provide input on board decisions regarding operations and personnel matters. Therefore there’s no public need to make a union leader a full voting member of a transit board.
   
• The bill says transit boards should “reflect the communities they serve, but the bill goes in the opposite direction.  The labor member wouldn’t be an elected official so there would be no accountability to voters.  The labor member might not even live in the transit agency’s district.  The result would be less agency responsiveness to the community and less accountability. 
   
• The bill would give unions an inside seat in executive sessions where sensitive policies are discussed that can affect union interests, like contracting service, service levels, etc. This would create an obvious conflict of interest and open the door to union influence outside of public view, which again weakens accountability and transparency. 
   
• There is a need to revisit transit agency governance, especially in light of the tidal wave of change sweeping through the transit industry. The governance changes should be to increase agency adaptability, responsiveness and accountability. The proposed bill would do the opposite. 
   
• Instead of considering SB 5575 lawmakers should assign the Joint Transportation Committee to study how transit agency governance can be improved.  The report from the Legislature’s 2006 Regional Governance Commission would be a good starting point.   
   
• Note: Even the Washington State Transit Association testified in opposition.