Victor Skinner
EAGnews.org

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan’s Proposal 2 would effectively elevate union contracts above the law, and experts have repeatedly warned the public about possible consequences if it’s approved by voters.

One of the most disturbing possibilities deals with the public’s fundamental right to know how their elected officials are conducting their business and spending their tax dollars.

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If Michigan voters pass Proposal 2, transparency and accountability could be removed from the equation by simply including a provision in union contracts stating that certain records (state, municipal or public school) must be kept secret – exempting them from the state’s Freedom of Information Act laws, according to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

“Under Prop 2, nothing would prevent state or local government officials from signing a union labor contract that prohibits disclosing information otherwise protected by FOIA,” the Mackinac Center reports. “They could even make the collective bargaining agreement itself subject to government secrecy, and the Legislature would be helpless to halt the process.

“While some may question whether government employee unions would work to prevent the release of government documents, there’s evidence to suggest they would.”

The Mackinac Center cites a 2007 case involving citizen journalist Chetly Zarko, who attempted to collect emails produced by school union officials using their public email address and school work computers.  The teachers union fought the release of the documents, and the Michigan Court of Appeals eventually sided with the union, ruling the documents were “personal” and therefore exempt from FOIA, the Mackinac Center reports.

“The threat of losing even greater access to government documents should most directly chill members of Michigan’s media,” the Center reports. “Journalists rely on FOIA requests to uncover everything from waste and abuse to explicit wrongdoing.”

EAGnews has used FOIA laws in Michigan and other states to uncover public school spending on extravagant luxury hotels, six-figure pizza parties, and unnecessary union and administrative perks. Schools would get away with that type of waste of freedom of information laws were gutted.

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We believe public scrutiny of government spending is not only wise, it’s essential to ensuring the dollars sent to public schools are used to educate children, and not for employee bonuses or union giveaways.

It’s been our experience that teachers union officials would almost always prefer to keep the public in the dark. They know their demands at the bargaining table and the perks awarded to their members would rightly draw scorn from struggling taxpayers.

Proposition 2 would ensure that never happens.