Confront the union question

Kootenai County doesn't have one. Neither does Post Falls. Or Hayden. Or Rathdrum, Spirit Lake and Athol.

But the city of Coeur d'Alene does, in triplicate. Coeur d'Alene is the only municipal entity in Kootenai County that allows its employees union membership. In fact, the city negotiates with three unions: One for members of the police department, one for firefighters and one for the remaining personnel.

As has been documented on the pages of this newspaper over the years, the city of Coeur d'Alene pays its employees very well. Recent stories have noted that a salary survey showed Coeur d'Alene employees, on average, are paid 11.5 percent more than their counterparts working for other governmental entities, including the state of Idaho.

Is there a relationship between that higher pay and union membership, leading, of course, to higher taxes? Absolutely. But hold on just a moment before you pick up the phone and bark at your city councilman or woman.

All three unions have been recognized in Coeur d'Alene since 1982. But after years of dealing with the unions leaving a bad taste in some councilmembers' and citizens' mouths, the council in 1998 revoked the oridinance that allowed the police and city employees collective bargaining powers. They decided the decision should ultimately be made by the voters.

In that yawn-wielding citywide vote in frigid February 1999, only 2,331 citizens bothered to cast ballots deciding whether or not the city should allow collective bargaining. The final tally was 1,366 for and 965 against. So, as is often the case, the biggest blame resides squarely in voters' (and nonvoters') laps.

Now you can criticize your councilmembers. They have the latitude to negotiate deals lasting up to five years, and guess what? The city is on the hook with negotiated agreements lasting until Sept. 30, 2018 with the firefighters, and until Sept. 30, 2017 with the police and other employees.

We make no apologies for questioning the benefit of public sector unions to the general citizenry. In our view, unions in government unfairly tip the scales away from taxpayers and toward public employees who execute their jobs marginally or worse.

Further extension of any of these three union contracts seems unimaginable, particularly with hotly contested city council elections just over three months away. But these days voters should assume nothing. We urge candidates for mayor and Coeur d'Alene City Council to enunciate very clearly where they stand on unions in city government. Long-term, there is no bigger fiscal question facing city taxpayers.