Public sector unions are bankrupting many states — here’s one of the reasons why:
In 11 states, secret government union collective bargaining is law, a lack of oversight that should be corrected. This lack of oversight often leads to unions employing strong-arm tactics to receive higher wages and benefits at taxpayer expense, say Nick Dranias, Bryron Schlomach and Stephen Slivinski of the Goldwater Institute.
- Alaska, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico and Wisconsin all require collective bargaining to take place outside the watchful eyes of elected officials and the news media’s watchful eyes.
- About 2.5 million Arizonans, more than 40 percent of the state’s population, live in municipalities that keep collective bargaining with government unions secret.
- Arizona pays its hourly employees approximately 20 percent more than what workers earn in the private sector.
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that state and local government employees earn 43 percent more than their private sector counterparts.
