United Teachers Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Unified School District have been negotiating behind closed doors for nearly 22 months.
However, not much word of the negotiations has been revealed to the public, resulting in the first teacher strike in thirty years.
Transparency in negotiations involving public employee unions is prohibited by law in California, Bob Wickers writes in his LA Times op-ed. So whether it's UTLA being unreasonable or LAUSD, that answer cannot be revealed just yet until a final contract is approved.
Wickers says though, "it doesn't have to be this way."
"Many states and municipalities have ordinances mandating transparency in collective bargaining. Proposals, counterproposals and independent analyses are posted publicly and negotiations are live-streamed. This kind of openness encourages adult behavior, good faith and compromise, and it can help avoid disruptive walkouts like the one we’re seeing now in Los Angeles," Wickers said.
Mr. Wickers is the Vice President of Operations of the Freedom Foundation, which is a non-profit think and action tank with offices in Washington, Oregon and California. "The Freedom Foundation believes openness in collective bargaining is critical to California’s future."
Bob Wickers will join the show at 3:00 p.m with more.
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