AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Janet Mills and Maine’s dominant state employees’ union are struggling again to reach agreement on a contract, largely over pay-raise disputes and remote work as a contract deadline approaches next week.
The two-year contract inked in 2019 between the state and the Maine Service Employees Union, which represents more than 9,000 state workers, is up on Wednesday. The two parties have been working on a contract for executive branch workers for months but are at risk of not having a new agreement by the start of the next fiscal year, meaning current terms will continue.
The biggest divider is pay, an area that has been contentious since the state released a report showing Maine state employees get paid on average 15 percent less than New England and private sector counterparts. An expired contract could heighten tensions between Mills and the state employees, who have clashed over how Maine has handled its employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, although both parties believe a deal can be reached before then.
“We’re trying to raise people up to a wage that is mostly livable,” said Dean Staffieri, the MSEA president.
Staffieri said he was unable to talk about the specifics of ongoing negotiations. But the union outlined major disputes in an email sent to employees on Wednesday, saying the union is seeking to increase minimum base pay to $15, $3 over the hourly minimum wage. The state is offering a 2 percent increase, putting the parties “nowhere near each other,” Staffieri said.
Kelsey Goldsmith, a spokesperson for Mills’ budget department, pointed to the last contract, which resulted in 4 percent raises for workers by 2021, but she did not say whether Mills would support further increases. She noted any agreements would have to go through the Legislature, which is sprinting to hash out a revised two-year budget by next week.
The two parties might be slightly closer on the subject of telework. In the early days of the pandemic, the state estimated 85 percent of employees were working remotely, with the majority of employees reporting in a May survey that they enjoyed those arrangements. Those numbers remained relatively steady in a November follow-up survey.
Staffieri said having a flexible approach to working from home is critical to members and that they are seeking more involvement in crafting policies on the subject. Goldsmith said the administration is considering the possibility of continued remote work. Budget Commissioner Kristen Figueroa told employees in May the department would start phasing employees back into office work starting in July.
The tight time frame to finish the contract creates uncertainty for employees, Staffieri said. The union plans to put pressure on the administration when it holds a rally near the Blaine House on Sunday prior to a meeting early next week. Having a state budget in place already ensures government services will continue, but it does not help with morale, Staffieri said.
“It leaves workers with a sense of, ‘Are we going to get anything at all?’” he said.