ADDITIONAL COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS HURT TAXPAYERS

Taxpayers need to start questioning the financial stranglehold the collective bargaining process has on a budget. As governments cave to the high demands of big labor, there is less money available for states to operate, maintain current projects, and fix or repair failing infrastructure.

Indeed, collective bargaining has affected Washington State's budget drastically. Payroll expenses immediately began to skyrocket when Washington State Public-sector unions were granted the right to negotiate exclusively with the governor's office in 2004:

In 2007, general fund expenditures jumped to more than $14.1 billion dollars. Of that amount, $2.2 billion was spent on state employee salaries, while $330 million was spent directly on state employee health benefits -- these figures don't include K-12 education.

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