Secret government union collective bargaining is the law in
eleven states, including Alaska, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa,
Kentucky, Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico,
and Wisconsin. By statute, these states expressly require
secrecy in collective bargaining. Similarly, in Arizona, at
least eight major cities keep collective bargaining with
government unions in the dark. The secrecy imposed by towns like
Avondale, Chandler and Maricopa even expressly prohibit anyone
from sharing records of negotiations with elected officials and
the news media. Elected officials and the public simply cannot
meaningfully check and balance collective bargaining
negotiations when they do not oversee them and the law keeps
them and the news media blind, deaf and dumb during the process.
When total secrecy in negotiations is combined with laws forcing
Arizona cities to engage in collective
bargaining—euphemistically called “meet and confer”
ordinances—government unions are free to deploy maximum leverage
in negot