17-02-2025
The labor issues likely to dominate discussion in Maine Legislature this year
State employee Justin Norris chants outside the governor's mansion, "Hey Janet Mills, we can't pay our bills" alongside his fellow union members on Sept. 26, 2023. (Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star)
With a new federal administration looking to shake up the labor and hiring status quo, some Maine unions and lawmakers are hoping to double down on state protections for workers.
The Legislature's Labor Committee has already kicked off its work with a handful of public hearings. Both Democratic committee chairs said the federal climate could create a renewed sense of urgency to safeguard workers' rights at the state level.
'We just want to hold the line, at least in the state of Maine for Maine workers, to make sure that they are taken care of,' said House co-chair Amy Roeder (D-Bangor).
Roeder expressed concern that President Donald Trump would roll back protections for workers passed under former President Joe Biden. With that in mind, there are several local labor issues that advocates and lawmakers hope to advance this session. Some of the state's biggest unions are zeroing in on the need to increase wages amid what Maine AFL-CIO Communications Director Andy O'Brien described as the 'affordability crisis.'
Among the other priorities that the state federation representing more than 40,000 workers is backing this session is the re-introduction of legislation that would provide no interest loans for state and federal employees in the event of a government shutdown — something that's become increasingly possible as Congress is just weeks away from another budget deadline.
Meanwhile, state employees have plans to continue their fight to close the persistent pay gap between them and their counterparts in the private sector.
And while they push for increased rights and protections, unions are also opposing legislation that they say is an effort to dilute their organizing power. Workers showed up en masse at the State House last week to testify against a so-called 'right-to-work' bill. The proposal seeks to allow employees at unionized workplaces who are not union members to opt out of paying union dues. However, unions like Maine AFL-CIO are against the measure because those employees would still receive the benefits of representation without paying for them.
Though bills in the Labor Committee tends to be 'cut-and-dry along party lines,' Roeder said there is often agreement among committee members around issues related to retirement and state pensions. One such issue stems from a 2011 change under then-Gov. Paul LePage that capped cost of living adjustments in state employee pensions.
Roeder said that lawmakers have heard testimony from retired state employees who are having to choose between paying for medicine, heat or their mortgage because their pensions aren't keeping up with costs. But even if both political parties recognize flaws in the state pension system, Roeder said the solutions come with such high price tags that there's little chance of passing a complete fix.
This issue came to light again last week during a hearing with the budget committee during which multiple retirees spoke of the challenges they have because their state pensions haven't kept up with the cost of living. Beth White, director of politics and legislation for the Maine Service Employees Association, SEIU Local 1989, told Maine Morning Star this has been 'extremely difficult' for the union's retired members.
Additionally, there are multiple proposals this session to expand access to a special retirement plan for certain professions due to the strenuous nature of their work.
Especially taxing careers such as firefighters, emergency medical services personnel and correctional officers can currently partake in a retirement plan that allows them to retire at the age of 55 with 10 years of service or before that with 25 years of service.
Two bills, including one sponsored by Labor Committee Senate chair Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot), seek to expand eligibility to psychiatric hospital employees and workers from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
A myriad of workers' rights and benefits are on the table this session including legislation to raise the minimum wage for farm workers and increase staffing levels for nurses that are reminiscent of the committee's work in recent years.
Gov. Janet Mills vetoed her own bill last session to guarantee that agricultural workers would be paid at least the state minimum wage because lawmakers amended it to maintain their right to take private action against employers.
This year, a similar proposal is back. However, this time it has been introduced by a Republican senator. Even though the legislation maintains the right to private action that Mills opposed, Roeder hopes this bill will garner more bipartisan support to sway the governor who has vetoed multiple other attempts to bolster agricultural workers' rights.
Maine's new paid family medical leave program is also making a return as it is already facing repeal efforts. Workers haven't yet been able to access the benefit, which isn't scheduled to be available until 2026, but Maine employers had to start withholding a portion of wages to pay into the program's fund in January.
Additionally, Roeder has multiple bills aimed at strengthening protections and rights for workers, including one that would allow employees to ask for remote work without fear of being penalized.
Closing the pay gap for state employees has been and will remain a key issue for the Maine Service Employees Association, which represents state workers. Studies in recent years have shown that state employees earn less than their private and public sector counterparts throughout New England, though the Mills administration has disputed some of those findings.
On average, that gap is about 14%, according to the most recent state employee compensation study released last fall. While that shows slight improvement from the 2020 study, White said there's still work to be done.
Based on conversations she's had with legislators, White is optimistic about the potential to work on closing the pay gap. She said it's taken a few years for lawmakers to understand the scope of the issue, but now she's seen a shift from educating legislators to finding solutions for a problem they are now aware of.
Not all of the bills have had their text released in full yet but White said the union is backing multiple measures that would help increase state worker pay.
The union is also supporting proposals to update the recruitment and retention stipend process, which would help with staff vacancies, and have future pay studies contracted out to organizations that specialize in that sort of data, rather than have them done by the state Department of Administrative and Financial Services.
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