POLICY HIGHLIGHTER

Volume 14, Number 19
September 1, 2004

AG candidates agree: Washington's anti-strike law clear

As Washington negotiates the first state budget drafted against the backdrop of state employees collectively bargaining for wages, various public employee unions are already threatening "job actions" and outright strikes if their demands are not met at the negotiating table. This illegal public posturing by union leadership is in direct conflict with state law.

Strikes by public employees in Washington state are expressly prohibited. In the words of one candidate running to become the state's next attorney general, the law is "unequivocally clear."

It is important to remember that public employees DO HAVE the right to petition government if they are not satisfied with their compensation, but they DO NOT have the right to strike and, in effect, hold citizens who are dependent on state services hostage to their demands. The reason for this is the assumption that public employees are providing essential services necessary for the health and safety of state citizens.

RCW 41.56.120 (see also RCW 41.80.060), a sub chapter of the state's collective bargaining law reads in its entirety:

Right to strike not granted.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall permit or grant any [emphasis added] public employee the right to strike or refuse to perform his official duties.

The Evergreen Freedom Foundation recently surveyed the candidates for attorney general and governor concerning Washington's anti-strike law and its enforcement. Of those that issued an opinion, agreement exists that this is a straightforward and unequivocal law.

Attorney General
Rob McKenna (R)
Every elected official in Washington State swears an oath to uphold the State's Constitution and laws. As the State's top legal officer, the Attorney General's primary constitutional responsibility is to defend our State's laws, including the statutory prohibition on strikes.

Deborah Senn (D)
RCW 41.56.120 is clear. Public employees are prohibited from striking. It's the job of the AG to defend the Legislature, Governor, and the statutes they enact and sign into law — including RCW 41.56. If AFSCME or another party challenged the constitutionality of the law, as AG, I would defend the RCW.

Mark Sidran (D)
Response from Sidran's campaign: Sidran is conducting further research on the issue and has not yet provided an opinion.

Mike Vaska (R)
Declined to issue an opinion saying: We are not in a position to associate ourselves with the press release, or your position at this time. Please keep us informed as you move forward, however.

Governor
Christine Gregoire (D)
Repeated queries, no reply from Gregoire's campaign.

Dino Rossi (R)
It is against the law for state employees to strike. Period.

Ron Sims (D)
The law has certainly been consistently interpreted to say that public employees are prohibited from striking. That's how the prosecuting attorney's office has interpreted it for King County. The goal of the elected official who is responsible for collective bargaining is to avoid strikes by successfully bargaining initial contracts as well as their successor agreements. I've been able to do that in King County for the past 8-years where I've had to bargain with more than 30-different unions representing 66 collective bargaining agreements.

Despite this clear and straightforward law, current Attorney General Gregoire and Governor Gary Locke have not exercised the powers of their respective offices to uphold it. This lack of clear direction from the executive branch has empowered state employee unions to publicly defy state law and call for and engage in strikes ("job actions") if contract demands are not met.

State employee union officials are further emboldened by the fact that there are no definitive consequences, no enforcement mechanism instituted for violations of this law. Thankfully, the legislature can easily remedy this problem, while at the same time avoiding the headache of future public employee strikes becoming the norm during budget years.

To ensure state law is obeyed, the legislature should consider adding the following to RCW 41.56.120 and RCW 41.80.060:

Violators of this act shall be subject to $500 fines per day for striking or refusing to perform official duties and/or be subject to immediate termination of employment. The public employee bargaining representative shall be fined $250 per day per represented employee found violating this act.

Such a consequence for violation of law would put needed teeth into Washington's anti-strike law.

Prepared by: Jason Mercier | Budget Research Analyst | 360-956-3482

Evergreen Freedom Foundation P.O. Box 552, Olympia, WA 98507 Phone: (360) 956-3482, Fax: (360) 352-1874 Email: effwa@effwa.org