An attempt was made to silence Lincoln, but the assignation attempt was foiled this time. For years, a discussion has been brewing about increasing transparency in government employee contract negotiations in Washington. Until recently, the unions have maintained their stranglehold on the process, forcing the meetings to be held in secret, hidden from the public's prying eyes. A county commissioner once asked one of the unions he was to negotiate with what they thought about making employee contract negotiations public. Union's response : "The union will not agree to public negotiations...we  have a contract with the County, not with the public... the public is not a party to the contract." Hannah Franks Facing the promise of litigation and an aggressive, defensive letter from the union outlining the “chilling effect and domination it would have on the members,” the county backed off. Over the next couple of years,’ enough signatures wer...