May 13 --

Statement by MSEA-SEIU President Ginette Rivard

on attempts to negotiate with the LePage administration

over the impact a state shutdown would have

on public services and nearly 10,000 workers:

This morning, members of the negotiating team representing nearly 10,000 State of Maine workers met with management to discuss the impact that a government shutdown would have on them and quality public services. The union team requested this meeting under state law after members raised repeated concerns, and after receiving a credible report that state agencies were directed to prepare for a state shutdown beginning July 1 that was described as "inevitable."

 

As members of the Maine State Employees Association, Local 1989 of the Service Employees International Union, we endured a state government shutdown in 1991, so we know the harm it caused. We know what it's like for Maine people to be denied the public services they are counting on. We also know what it's like to go weeks without a paycheck during a state shutdown. We stand by the credible reports we cited from members about agencies planning for a shutdown.

 

Our members told the truth in requesting a meeting with management to discuss the impact a shutdown would have on them. Yet minutes into this morning's meeting, Gov. LePage disrespected members of our union negotiating team and said that if the Legislature doesn't approve his budget, "then you have a problem." Gov. LePage and his management team further refused to negotiate this morning with members of our union over the impact of a shutdown. His chief negotiator said management's refusal to negotiate would continue until a shutdown decision is made.

 

We all know that the Governor's proposed budget puts Maine's communities and Maine's working families at risk. His proposed budget has been overwhelmingly rejected by nearly everyone in the state, including members of his own party and Maine communities. It is disappointing that Gov. LePage seems so willing to force a state shutdown to force his proposed budget on Maine's communities and working families.

Credible reports that the LePage administration has directed state agencies to prepare for a shutdown

 

Last week, we received credible reports that the LePage administration has directed state agencies to prepare for a shutdown of Maine State Government on July 1, 2013. The administration said the shutdown was, in their words, "inevitable." In response, our union formally asked the administration to meet with us to bargain over the impact a state shutdown would have on workers in affected bargaining units. We have the right, under the law, to impact bargaining in this instance.

 

In addition to demanding impact bargaining, we also asked the administration, under the State Employee Labor Relations Act and the Maine Freedom of Access Act, for relevant documents that state agencies or the administration prepared or received relating to a potential state shutdown. Those documents are to include any plans or planning documents, including cost savings or projections.

 

Our requests appear in our letter to Breena Whitcomb, the State's chief negotiator. Read our letter here.

 

Read related press coverage here:

Maine Today Media;

Bangor Daily News.

 

To be clear: we don't want a shutdown. However, since the administration appears to be moving in that direction, we need to bargain with them over what that will mean to you and your families. You have the right to know what will happen, and that your employer is taking every step to protect your rights and your livelihood. Everyone, including the LePage administration, should be doing everything in their power to make sure you can continue to serve the public. A shutdown will hurt the public, the economy and thousands of state workers.

 

Let's be equally clear that Maine cannot accept the Governor's proposed budget. It will force communities to raise property taxes, slash the safety net and take $12 million out of your pockets through cuts to the health plan, freezes to merit and longevity pay, and other measures. State legislators can prevent the administration from shutting down state government by passing a two-year state budget with a two-thirds majority.

 

So please call your State Representative and State Senator TODAY. Ask them to:

• Fully fund the State Employee Health Plan;

• Restore merit and longevity pay for State of Maine workers;

• Pass a fair share budget solution ensuring all Mainers, including the wealthy, pay their fair share.

Get the contact information for your state legislators here.

 

Be sure to call your legislators TODAY. Together, we can advocate for a responsible state budget as we hold the administration accountable to its legal responsibility to bargain over the impact a shutdown would have on our members. We will keep you posted on new developments.

Charley Richardson teaching at class at a NNEC-SEIU Summer Labor Studies Institute in Castine, Maine.

MSEA Calls for Independent Review of LePage Attempts to Politicize Unemployment Appeals Process.

(Click for press release)

Bipartisan support for restoring merit and longevity pay! Sign and send in your letters to your state legislators RIGHT NOW!

Our determined effort to persuade state legislators to restore merit and longevity pay is gaining bipartisan support.

 

On April 8, members of the State and Local Government Committee voted unanimously to restore merit pay. All but one committee member voted to restore longevity pay. While additional votes in the Legislature will need to be taken before merit and longevity pay is restored, these committee votes show that legislators from both parties are listening to us.

 

That is why we need your help RIGHT NOW: If you haven't already signed and mailed back to us the letter we sent you urging your State Senator and your State Representative to restore merit/longevity and to fully fund the State Employee Health Plan, please do so immediately. That way, we can personally deliver the letter to your legislators.

 

Again, sign and mail back to us the letter we sent you urging your State Senator and State Representative to restore merit/longevity and to fully fund the State Employee Health Plan. The return postage is paid for you! Together, we can get merit and longevity pay restored, and the State Employee Health Plan fully funded.

"Reports that Governor LePage on March 21 personally pressured Maine hearing officers to decide Unemployment Insurance claims in favor of employers and against unemployed workers are deeply troubling.

"Through his actions, Governor LePage has shown an utter disregard for the due-process rights of unemployed Maine workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. He has interfered with the ability of Maine's hearing officers to fairly and impartially adjudicate Unemployment Insurance claims based on the facts and applicable federal laws. There's no place for intimidation and coercion by Governor LePage or anyone else in the decision making process.

"Throughout Maine State Government, members of my union perform their jobs with the highest level of transparency and accountability. We represent many state workers whose jobs are to follow applicable state and federal laws, and to render decisions accordingly. We are proud to represent the hearing officers who apply federal laws in resolving Unemployment Insurance claims in Maine. They have a duty to do their jobs free of intimidation and coercion. We are determined to ensure that their rights are protected and respected."

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MSEA-SEIU members urge legislators:

Fully Fund the State Employee Health Plan!

On April 2, MSEA-SEIU member Ramona Welton, who is a Labor member of the State Employee Health Commission, and many other workers testified before the Appropriations Committee to urge legislators to fully fund the State Employee Health Plan and to reject the Governor's budget proposal known as Part H, which would "flat fund" the Health Plan for two more years. "This cost shifting on healthcare comes with a real price to quality public services," Ramona explained to legislators. "The State of Maine is now struggling to find qualified employees to do the public's work. The State's Finance Commissioner, Sawin Milllett, last month publicly acknowledged this problem exists. Yet rather than address the problem, the LePage administration's proposed budget would worsen it by continuing to flat fund the health plan."

 

Continuing, Ramona said, "The recurring shifting of healthcare costs onto employees also comes with a real price to the employees. Their healthcare and the healthcare for their families has become more and more expensive as they struggle to keep up with the rising cost of living. So, flat funding is actually a pay cut to thousands of workers. In fact, the Governor's proposal for the upcoming two-year state budget would create an $8 million funding gap in the State Employee Health Plan for the first year of the upcoming biennium, and we anticipate the gap will be millions more in the following year. It doesn't have to be this way. It's time to take action to address the State of Maine's employee recruitment and retention problem. Fully funding the State Employee Health Plan is an essential first step."

 

MSEA-SEIU member Deb Thomas told Committee members: "I am disappointed with the disregard the State of Maine has been showing its workforce and all Maine people. It's time for you to do right thing by the state workers. More workers are needed to do the public's work. The State of Maine has already acknowledged it has a serious recruitment and retention problem. It is time to take action by fully funding the State Employee Health Plan."

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MSEA-SEIU members urge legislators:

Restore merit/longevity!

MSEA-SEIU member Peter Grant tells legislators March 22 about the revolving door of workers at Riverview Psychiatric Center after years of cuts to the wages and benefits of state workers. Peter is shown displaying a copy of a comprehensive Labor Market Survey that the Maine Department of Administrative & Financial Services commissioned in 2008 from Crescendo Consulting of Portland, Maine. The Labor Market Survey, which compares the wages of state workers to over 250 Maine companies, as well as over 100 municipalities and counties, shows that nearly across the board, state workers are paid hourly wages that are less than their private sector counterparts for comparable work. Peter provided copies of the Labor Market Survey to members of the Appropriations and State & Local Government Commtitees. In all, over a dozen MSEA-SEIU members testified March 22 in support of restoring merit/longevity in the next two-year state budget.

From the Desk of President Ginette Rivard

• Wednesday, September 25, Bangor: Spectacular Event;
• Thursday, September 26: Presque Isle: Hampton Inn;
• Wednesday, October 2: Portland: Clarion Hotel;
• Wednesday, October 9: Augusta Civic Center.

• June 3, 10 a.m., Board Room, MSEA-SEIU HQ;
• Sept. 9, 8 a.m., annual meeting, lunch at noon, Calumet Club, 334 West River Road, Augusta;
• Oct. 7, 10 a.m., Board Room, MSEA-SEIU HQ;
• Nov. 4, 10 a.m., Board Room, MSEA-SEIU HQ;
• Dec. 2, 10 a.m., lunch at noon follwed by yankee gift swap, Board Room, MSEA-SEIU HQ.

• Read the report: "Preserving MaineCare Coverage for Low-Income Adults: Smart Policy-Common Sense"