
The Washington State Legislature’s passage of SB 5297 and the subsequent unionization of the state’s assistant attorneys general is a case study in what’s wrong with government unions. It’s hard to conclude that SB 5297 was anything other than a purely political move to increase union dues collection.
This week, the Freedom Foundation filed six complaints with the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) alleging three cities and three unions violated campaign finance laws while opposing local ballot propositions in 2014 that sought to make union dues payment optional for public employees and make collective bargaining negotiations involving public-sector unions and government officials open to public observation.