Erin Shannon: Allowing the public more access to their government is never a bad thing

Last December, Spokane County commissioners lifted the veil of secrecy that surrounds collective bargaining negotiations between the county and its unionized employees.

Commissioner Al French says the resolution “guarantees the public can witness where millions of their public dollars are being spent and how they are negotiated.” Commissioner Josh Kerns notes the new law “continues our commitment to make local government more transparent.”

Most taxpayers believe open, transparent government is good government. That’s why polls show overwhelming support for opening collective bargaining negotiations to the public. As former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously noted, “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants” when it comes to keeping special-interest corruption at bay.

Of course, not everyone wants taxpayers to know what their government is doing. The Northwest Accountability Project is sounding the alarm, hysterically warning Spokesman-Review readers that the county’s new resolution requiring openness is part of some “mysterious” and “deceptive” plot to “destroy well-paying public sector jobs in Spokane County.”

The only mystery is how allowing the public more access to their government could possibly be a bad thing.

Speaking of deceptive, consider NAP itself. In describing itself as “an organization dedicated to shining a light on special interests that attempt to bring hate and division to working families in the Northwest,” it hides the fact it is a union funded group. As one NAP spokesperson admits, “we are labor-backed.” NAP was created by organized labor in 2015 to attack the Freedom Foundation, the nonprofit group in our state helping local governments become more open and accountable.

NAP has harassed Freedom Foundation employees by mailing flyers to their neighbors warning an “extremist” lives in their neighborhood. The flyers include photos and personal details about employees and their families. NAP has also targeted the businesses of those who support the Freedom Foundation’s open-government work.

The intimidation and bullying doesn’t stop with employees and supporters of the Freedom Foundation. In 2017 NAP threatened city and county officials around the state with “challenges” that “cost time and money” if they open secret collective bargaining negotiations to the public.

NAP’s deception isn’t limited to hiding the fact the organization is a union front. Its claim that Spokane County commissioners have “wasted countless hours and taxpayer dollars” by passing an open collective bargaining resolution that is “dead on arrival” is false.

After Lincoln County passed its open negotiations resolution, the Public Employment Relations Commission rejected unions’ complaint alleging the resolution was an “unfair labor practice.” Soon after Lincoln County successfully conducted its first collective bargaining negotiation with doors wide open.

Union negotiators demanded Lincoln County commissioners close the next negotiating session. The commissioners refused, so the union walked out. PERC then issued a head scratching nondecision, declaring both the county and the union committed unfair labor practices by refusing to bargain. The ruling is a paradox; both sides are wrong and neither is right. It’s weird, but not even close to a condemnation of Lincoln County’s open government resolution.

The bizarre nondecision is under appeal. Lincoln County commissioners say they will not back down, and promise to defend their commitment to transparent government: “No matter how long it takes, we will fight to protect the rights of Lincoln County and its people to promote common-sense government transparency.”

So Spokane County’s openness resolution is in no way “dead on arrival,” although clearly NAP and its union backers desperately wish that were the case.

Why are they afraid of an open door policy for collective bargaining?

Open and transparent government allows every citizen, regardless of occupation or socio-economic status, to engage in policymaking in a meaningful way. It promotes civic engagement that empowers citizens. Open government is the great equalizer, removing the barriers to access that perpetuate an imbalance of influence tilted in favor of special interests with deep pockets. Being a policy insider shouldn’t be reserved for the moneyed.

Northwest Accountability Project and unions say they advocate for the middle class and give working families a voice. If their true goal is empowering working class families, they would support open government policies like Spokane County’s new resolution, because that gives every citizen the same free access to the inner workings of their government.

Erin Shannon is director of the Center for Worker Rights at Washington Policy Center.