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Better Cities Project
  • Home
  • About Us
    Our Vision
    BCP’s vision is that free-market municipal policy solutions are broadly available, widely acceptable, and regularly employed, enabling American cities to achieve their full potential as engines of economic prosperity. We reject the idea that cities are lost to free-market principles or policies.
    Our Mission
    BCP uncovers ideas that work, promotes realistic solutions, and forges partnerships that help people in America’s largest cities live free and happy lives.
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    Address

    304 S. Jones Blvd #2826
    Las Vegas NV 89107

    Phone

    (702) 608-2046‬

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    Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

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    info@better-cities.org

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Home Clean, Open and Fair Government

Collective bargaining transparency: A win for workers and taxpayers

Jason MercierVincent VernucciobyJason MercierandF. Vincent Vernuccio
November 9, 2020
in Clean, Open and Fair Government, Criminal Justice and Public Safety, Research
Reading Time: 2 mins read
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Better Cities Project Collective Bargaining Transparency report
Click to download a PDF of the report.

A new Better Cities Project report shows how opening up the negotiations behind those expenditures is good for taxpayers, good for union members and good for local government.

The cost to municipalities of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns are placing every part of local budgets into the spotlight. Government employee wages and benefits are not immune as they have an extraordinary impact in virtually every city.  A 2018 National League of Cities survey found that wage hikes impacted 88% of surveyed city budgets, more than any other factor listed. These costs are often set years at a time through collective bargaining contracts with employee unions. And while they may not be renegotiable in the short-term, opening up those negotiations to public scrutiny is good for taxpayers, good for union members and good for local government.

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As we detail in our latest release , creating additional transparency in collective bargaining negotiations is:

Good for taxpayers: Since government-employee contracts account for such a large portion of public spending, they should not be negotiated in secret. Taxpayers provide the money for these agreements and they should be able to follow the process, holding government officials accountable for the spending decisions they make.

Good for union members: Because they know exactly what proposals their union representatives are requesting and rejecting, transparency benefits rank-and-file union members, providing information on how they are being represented.

Good for local government: Transparency instills more accountability into the collective bargaining process by quickly identifying whether one side is being unreasonable in negotiations or acting in bad faith. This clarity correlates with higher levels of trust in government, an important factor as local officials tackle a range of challenges requiring voter buy-in.

The people in your community have a right to know how public spending decisions are made on their behalf. If for no other reason, transparency increases public confidence in the efficacy of government institutions. Opening union contract negotiations to the public as other states and cities have done, is a practical and ethical way to achieve that standard.

Tags: BudgetsCollective BargainingPublic-Sector UnionsResearch
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Jason Mercier

Jason Mercier

Jason Mercier is the director of the Center for Government Reform at Washington Policy Center. He has served on the boards of the Washington Coalition for Open Government and Verify More, and was an advisor to the 2002 Washington State Tax Structure Committee. He worked with lawmakers in 2008 to create the state’s renowned budget transparency website www.fiscal.wa.gov and has been a champion for many of the state’s important budget reform tools including the four-year balanced budget requirement adopted in 2012.

F. Vincent Vernuccio

F. Vincent Vernuccio

F. Vincent Vernuccio is a labor policy consultant and advises a multitude of policy organizations throughout the country. Vernuccio’s advisory positions include senior policy advisor with the State Policy Network, senior fellow with the Mackinac Center, and President of the Institute for the American Worker, among others. Vernuccio served on the U.S. Department of Labor transition team for the Trump Administration, and under former President George W. Bush served as special assistant to the assistant secretary for administration and management in the Department of Labor.

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