2007 PRESS RELEASES

February 13, 2007

Unions seek to prevent disclosure of public documents
Documents of “no legitimate concern to the public.”

OLYMPIA—On February 8, 2007, seven unions filed a complaint in King County Superior Court to prevent the state from releasing documents made and exchanged between the state and unions during collective bargaining agreement negotiations last year. The case has been assigned to Judge Hilyer, and has been noted for hearing on Friday, March 9, 2007, at 9:30 a.m.

In 2006, the state’s Labor Relations Office (LRO) negotiated 22 contracts with unions representing state employees. These contracts will cost the state more than a half-billion dollars.

The Evergreen Freedom Foundation filed a public document request on November 30, 2006, for documents generated during the negotiations to give legislators and the public a better perspective on how the contract was negotiated. In particular, EFF asked for the contract proposals the state gave to the union and received from the union, as well as the bargaining notes made by the state’s negotiators during negotiations.

The LRO planned to release the bargaining proposals on February 12, 2007, and the bargaining notes after the Legislature approves the contract later this year.

When the state notified the interested parties, including the unions, of its intention to release the documents, the unions filed for a permanent injunction to prevent the state from releasing the documents. In part, they allege that “[t]he information sought is of no legitimate concern to the public interest and is not in the public interest.”

“Legislators and the public should have access to all the information they need to make to make well-informed decisions,” said Ryan Bedford, a Labor Policy Analyst for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. “They should not be asked to fund a half-billion dollar bill negotiated behind closed doors.”

Additional Information:

The complaint filed by the union coalition: http://www.effwa.org/files/pdf/20070208_Complaint.pdf

A summary of the costs of the state employee contracts: http://www.effwa.org/files/pdf/ContractCosts.PDF

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