Gov. Inslee’s May 17 speech to the Washington Federation of State Employees got rave reviews from those in attendance. No surprise there.

“It’s just clear to me that it’s unacceptable that state employees have gone so long without a general pay increase,” the governor told a cheering crowd of about 500 Federation Policy Committee delegates Saturday (May 17) in Seatac.

The timing, as the union notes, was important.

But the comment took on added weight just days before the start of bargaining at General Government and three of the Federation’s other largest teams: The Evergreen State College Classified Staff, the Community College Coalition and the University of Washington.

While the governor duly noted the financial pressure facing the state next session, he had an answer.

“We are going to recognize the cold hard fact that the state of Washington is going to have to find a way to generate additional revenues to solve this problem.”

“Additional revenue” = tax increases. Not even much of a euphemism anymore.  Makes you wonder if anyone will be negotiating from the taxpayers’ side of the table. In today’s Wall Street Journal, Fred Siegel and Nicole Gelinas point out the long term consequences of unaffordable collective bargaining agreements for New York City.

Mr. Bloomberg said after 2008 that teachers could have raises, but only if they agreed to pay for their health-care premiums and to work more “productively.” The teachers refused.

That the city could not afford raises without equivalent savings is obvious from the de Blasio budget. Mr. de Blasio was able to balance the budget for fiscal 2015 thanks largely to revenue coming in $1.2 billion higher than Mr. Bloomberg’s conservative projections. But the $9 billion net cost of the labor blowout over the next four years—including the cost of similar deals Mr. de Blasio expects to do with the rest of the city workforce—has shot holes in future budgets.

De Blasio wants to borrow to plug the holes, reverting to fiscal practices not seen in NYC in decades.

Obviously a bad idea, like going into collective bargaining sessions to cheers from the people with whom you’re negotiating.