The Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) is really upset with state Senate Republicans for not handing over everything it demands on a silver platter and passing state House Democrats’ latest budget proposal. So much so, that the union has resorted to ridiculous attacks and outrageous claims to express its anger.
As Shift reported, the Senate’s revised budget includes funding for state employee pay raises contingent upon passage of reforms to the collective bargaining process, including opening secret negotiations to the public.
It’s not difficult to understand why the WFSE is so upset when one considers just how much union executives stand to profit from higher state employee pay translating into more dues. The Freedom Foundation,
“Typically, union dues are based on a percentage of employees’ pay. So when state employees are paid more, the union’s cut increases as well. According to Washington State’s Human Resource Office, about three-quarters of state employees are covered by CBAs.
“While it is difficult to estimate precisely how much more government unions will make because of the pay raises, the Freedom Foundation has assembled some ballpark numbers.
- According to our estimation, the Senate’s 2015-2017 biennial budget proposal contains funding for about $534 million in higher pay, compensation and expenses as required by CBAs.
- Of this, about $12.5 million in dues and fees will be deducted from public employees’ paychecks by the state and sent directly to labor unions.
- About $4.6 million will then be spent by labor unions on political activity and other activity unrelated to collective bargaining.”
That’s right a whopping $12.6 million more in union dues. And, out of that, another whopping $4.6 million dedicated to attacking Republican candidates for public office. Reforms to the collective bargaining process mean that, in the future, union executives won’t be able to get away with their money grab so easily.
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