State employee unions also want an explicit right to bargain the terms of agency contracts with private firms. Leaving little to chance, the Washington State Labor Council is pressing for two amendments to the bill. The Labor Council says one would require private firms contracting with state agencies to pay their workers wages and benefits that are comparable to what state employees receive. The other would obligate the state to address the needs of state employees displaced when an agency contracts out a service. Gov. Gary Locke, who requested the bill, opposes these amendments as unwarranted statutory overlays that would restrict the flexibility of the give and take in negotiating contracts.
All states permit some form of contracting with private firms.
Washington contracts out many services. But it has one of the most, if not the most, restrictive laws in the country. This is so regardless of the cost savings which might be made through such a contract. There's clearly no direct link between managed competition and collective bargaining. Five states, including Washington, allow limited collective bargaining.