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February 15, 2007
Unions seek to enjoin disclosure of public documents
By Ryan Bedford
When is a contract worth more than half-a-billion dollars a public concern? When taxpayers have to fund it.
This is Ryan Bedford for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation.
On February 8, 2007, seven unions filed for an injunction to stop the state from releasing documents generated during the negotiations between the state and the public employee unions last year.
The most outstanding allegation in the unions’ compliant is, and I quote, “The information sought is of no legitimate concern to the public interest and is not in the public interest.”
This is ludicrous. The contracts will cost taxpayers more than a half-billion dollars. How can they not be of interest to the public? Few have a greater interest than legislators, who must vote to fund the contracts, and taxpayers, who actually pay the bill. Legislators and the public should have access to all the information they need to make well-informed decisions. They should not be asked to approve of, or fund a half-billion dollar bill negotiated behind closed doors.
The unions, however, argue that the release of the documents will chill member participation on union bargaining committees. They also claim the release of this public information will somehow interfere with their right to organize and represent workers.
This doomsday prophecy is way off the mark. The state’s collective bargaining system is protected by state statute. Honest state employees have no reason to fear for their jobs or careers when they participate in their union. The release of documents already in the state’s possession should be of no concern.
Unions must remember that the dollars that fund their contracts come from taxpayers’ pockets. In the private sector, secrecy may be appropriate, if only because owners, who must fund the contracts, sit at the bargaining table. In the public sector, however, unions are trying to lock the owner—in this case, the taxpayers—out of the room.
This is Ryan Bedford for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation.
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Ryan is a legal research assistant and labor policy analyst for EFF’s Labor Policy Center. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from Oak Brook College of Law and Government Policy and has trained with the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia. Ryan has gained a broad range of experience while working for the California and Oregon legislatures, several public policy organizations and various political campaigns.
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