Spokane voters now have the opportunity to end secrecy in city government and bring much needed transparency to one of the largest budget cost drivers in the city – union collective bargaining agreements. A citizen group called Better Spokane is sponsoring Proposition 1, a city charger amendment that would require collective bargaining talks between the city and powerful unions be transparent and open to public observation. If approved, Better Spokane's Proposition 1 will end secret, behind closed doors government union negotiations in Spokane.

Collective bargaining transparency is common and routine.  It is the norm in nearly half of the states. There are also several examples of collective bargaining transparency working at the local level in our state.

Some states open the entire negotiation process to the public, while others include an exemption when government officials are strategizing among themselves. Once public officials meet with union negotiators, however, the public is allowed to be informed and monitor the process. 

Washington state has one of the strongest open government laws in the country. The state’s Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) says: “The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.”

Despite this strong mandate for government transparency from the people, government union contracts are usually negotiated in secret, meaning an important and costly taxpayer expense is hidden until the final bill comes due.

There are several examples of collective bargaining transparency working at the local level. These include Gig Harbor, Lincoln County, Kittitas County, Ferry County, Spokane County, Pullman School District and Kennewick School District. 

Explaining why the Pullman School District embraces collective bargaining transparency, the district’s finance manager Diane Hodge said, “We just think it’s fair for all of the members to know what’s being offered on both sides.”

Ending secrecy in government employee contract negotiations is popular. A statewide poll shows that 76% support “requiring collective bargaining negotiations for government employers to be open to the public.”

Since government union contracts account for such a large portion of spending, they should not be negotiated in secret. The public provides the money for these agreements. Taxpayers should be allowed to follow the process and hold government officials accountable for the spending decisions they make on our behalf.

Government employees should also be able to see firsthand what offers and counteroffers are being made by union executives in their name. A policy of open public meetings would identify whether one side or the other is being deceptive or unreasonable and would quickly reveal who, if anyone, is acting in bad faith.

The people have a right to know how public spending decisions are made on their behalf. Ending collective bargaining secrecy and opening government union contract negotiations to the public, as other states and cities have done, is a practical and ethical way to achieve that standard. If approved, Proposition 1 would help to fulfill these open government principles for Spokane collective bargaining agreements.