Government unions already wield enormous power in blue states, where they help elect the Democrats who negotiate their contracts and approve their budgets. After Tuesday’s elections, they could wield even more. Ballot measures in Maryland, California, and Colorado would weaken elected officials’ control over union contracts, make a temporary tax permanent, and dismantle limits on government spending.
Maryland’s Question 1 would give unions more power to get their way at the bargaining table. Under current law, when a government union and the state can’t agree on a contract, an arbitrator offers nonbinding recommendations to resolve the dispute. Elected officials retain the authority to reject demands that they believe taxpayers either cannot afford or simply should not pay.
