Americans for Fair Treatment (AFFT) continues its mission to serve public employees through a new database of all state and municipal collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) in Pennsylvania.
The database provides Pennsylvania public employees with copies of the CBAs that define the terms and conditions of their employment, giving them a vital tool to know and understand what unions and the government have agreed to on their behalf.
Contract transparency is vital to effective government. This resource ensures the public also has access to contracts that govern most of the state and municipal workforce.
While the database is a huge step forward in contract transparency, the database can only include contracts that have already been approved by lawmakers. Many public employees still do not have the opportunity to see their full contracts before they are voted on. Trent Bryden, a teacher in Northeastern, PA, explained in a recent op-ed that he and the public do not have appropriate access to the contract that governs most of his work.
A proposed bill, which passed out of the Pennsylvania House Labor and Industry Committee, would give public employees and taxpayers the right to see a contract two weeks before it is voted on by local or state officials.
AFFT hopes that the collective bargaining database serves as a step in the right direction towards bringing long-needed transparency to labor contracts in Pennsylvania.
If you have a document to contribute to this page or any questions about specific collective bargaining agreements, email us at info@americansforfairtreatment.org.