Protected: York County Jobs
MSEA-SEIU members celebrate on the steps of the York
County Courthouse on May 7 after the York County Commissioners approved
a county budget that protects the jobs of county workers. Earlier versions
of the budget had called for funding cuts that would have led to layoffs.
Also at the commissioners' meeting, our union and the commissioners
signed a two-year contract that is level-funded but includes a wage
reopener provision for this summer.
Tell
Medical Care Development:
Not on Our Dime!
Workers at Medical Care Development, a publicly funded corporation
providing services to Maine people with disabilities, are forming a
union to solve problems in their worksites throughout Maine.
Management’s response: Threats.
Management has launched tired, old tactics aimed at discouraging workers
from exercising their right to form a union. Management recently instructed
their supervisors to threaten workers with the loss of their health
insurance if they join a union. These tactics are nothing new, but in
this case management is doing it with public money at a time when many
other social services were cut due to the difficult economy.
Tell MCD it’s wrong to use taxpayer dollars to fund its anti-worker
campaign! Please join us at a rally in support of MCD workers:
Rally Time: Noon
Rally Day: Monday, May 12
Rally Site: Buker Park, Augusta (intersection
of Armory and Capitol streets,across from MCD headquarters)
Tell MCD to Respect Workers’ Rights!
Republican
MSEA-SEIU Members Greet Delegates at State Convention
MSEA-SEIU Retired member Phil Wolley greets a delegate
to the Republican State Convention in Augusta. Wolley, MSEA-SEIU Director
and Chief Steward Darryl Touchette and others from our union spent the
weekend talking with delegates and state legislators about issues important
to working families, from the importance of quality public services
in Maine to efforts to ensure health and retirement security for all
Maine workers. Later this month, Democratic MSEA-SEIU members will staff
a booth at their party's state convention.
MSEA-SEIU
Presents First Lady Karen Baldacci
with 'Champion for Children' Award
Children at
the Lots of Tots Child Care in Princeton give Maine First Lady Karen Baldacci
a paper flower arrangement they made for her on Thursday, May 1. During
her visit, our union presented the First Lady with a "Champion for
Children" award recognizing her efforts to improve the lives of Maine
children.
During First Lady Karen Baldacci's visit to the family child care program
of Penni Theriault, owner of Lots of Tots Child Care in Princeton, Maine,
on May 1, our union presented the First Lady with a "Champion for Children"
award in honor of Worthy Wage Day, which is recognized on May 1st. The
award recognizes the First Lady's work on behalf of Maine's young children.
While at Lots of Tots, the First Lady greeted families, read to the
children and observed Theriault's program to get a firsthand look at
the work of family child care providers. She also talked about the importance
of quality child care to Maine's economy and the healthy development
of young children.
Family child care providers recently won the right to collectively
negotiate with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services over
issues such as the structure and rates of the subsidy program that helps
low income, working families afford child care and better access to
training and professional development for child care providers.
In this election year, family child care providers intend to raise
the awareness of political decision makers around issues of early childhood
development by inviting local candidates into their home child care
businesses to see firsthand how the work they do supports Maine's working
families and over 10,000 young children.
The First Lady follows in the footsteps of State Senator Kevin Raye,
who also recently visited Ms. Theriault's program, and Congressman Tom
Allen, who spent a morning with South Portland family child care provider
Kay Mishkin.
Senator
Collins Urged to Stop Ducking on Colombia 'Fair Trade' Act
Mainers march on the Lewiston office of Senator Susan Collins on April
29 to encourage her to join with Senator Olympia Snowe and Congressmen
Tom Allen and Mike Michaud in opposing President Bush's Columbia Fair
Trade Act. Collins is the only member of Maine's congressional delegation
who has remained silent on this issue.
Leaders of labor, environmental, faith and human rights organizations
in Maine gathered in Lewiston and Bangor on April 29 to call on Senator
Susan Collins to take a position on the pending Colombia Fair Trade
Agreement. Members of the Maine Fair Trade Campaign, a statewide coalition
of 49 organizations, including our union, are opposed to unfair trade
policy. They criticized Collins for dragging her feet.
"Collins is ducking the issue," Sarah Bigney of the Maine
Fair Trade Campaign said as she stood next to a human-sized duck.
Matt Beck of IBEW Local Union 1837 spoke about the assassination of
union leaders in Colombia. "As a union member and union organizer,
I am also greatly concerned by the ongoing murders of thousands of labor
organizers and trade unionists in Colombia," Beck said. "These
murders continue to this day at an alarming rate with very few of those
responsible being brought to justice. We cannot, we must not, send a
message to the Colombian government that this gruesome busines-as-usual
can continue."
Collins is the only member of Maine's congressional delegation who
has not taken a stand. Senator Olympia Snowe and Congressmen Tom Allen
and Mike Michaud have all come out against the trade deal because it
would be disastrous for Maine, our nation and Colombia.
Colombia is the most dangerous place in the world for union members,
where over 2,500 union leaders have been killed since 1986. More than
17 have been killed this year alone. Meantime, over 24,000 good-paying
jobs have left Maine and been shipped overseas since NAFTA. With our
economy stressed already, Congress should not continue to approve job-killing
trade deals. Additionally, these trade agreements lower the standards
for workers' rights, environmental protection, and public health policy
through extraordinary foreign investor rights.
MSEA-SEIU
Member Advocates for Cancer Research
By Debra A.
Violette, MSEA-SEIU Steward
I recently attended the Winter Lung Special Program
of Research Excellence (SPORE) conference held in Santa Monica, California.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) established the SPORE program in
1992 in an effort to bring us closer to eliminating suffering and death
due to cancer by 2015. The SPOREs have been responsible for many important
developments in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer with a view to
bringing this research from the laboratory to bedside in the quickest
time possible. It is the largest program within NCI that operates with
this goal.
As I walked from my hotel to the conference across the
street, I took in the beautiful flower gardens lining the sidewalks
and wondered what advancements might be spoken on lung cancer research
this year. I enjoy attending these conferences because of the knowledge
of the hope that a cure will be found for this devastating disease.
I made my way to the registration booth and into the
conference room. In prior years this conference would be filled with
scientists excited about their laboratory’s new research project or
discovery made on a new pathway, repair gene or promising new chemotherapy
agent. This year, because of continued budget crunches, there were many
vacant seats in the room and devastating talks about important lung
cancer research being abandoned because of funding shortages. Future
Lung SPORE conferences have been canceled altogether. These conferences
are a way for scientists to collaborate with one another on their laboratories
findings.
In August 2001, the Report of the Lung Cancer Progress
Review Group to NCI warned that “…we have funded lung cancer research
below the levels that characterize other common malignancies and far
out of proportion to its massive public health impact.” Sadly, it has
become a NATIONAL HEALTH CRISIS and there remains a gross imbalance
in cancer research funding. As a lung cancer survivor and advocate,
I have had the opportunity to talk to many people here is Maine and
across the country. I know that many of you have had family, friends
and co-workers meet an untimely death because if this disease. This
will continue to be the case if we do not speak out. I am calling on
my union brothers and sisters for your help in contacting the National
Cancer Institute, Senators and Representatives to increase (not decrease)
lung cancer research funding.
Please contact me at dviolette@prexar.com
if you would like to send letters in support of lung cancer research
funding.
Also, all MSEA-SEIU members, families and friends
are invited to join me on Friday, May 2, at 3 PM at Augusta City Center
on Cony Street, Augusta, as the Maine Lung Cancer Alliance dedicates
the Lung Cancer Memorial Garden. Augusta Mayor Roger Katz will preside
as master of ceremonies as we honor all of those who have been touched
by this disease. The rain date is May 5.
Attention
MSEA-SEIU Members:
Join Us at the Democratic State Convention
MSEA-SEIU members who belong to the Democratic Party are invited to
help staff our booth at the Democratic Party's convention from May 30-June
1 at Augusta Civic Center. Some time slots are still available to staff
our booth. If you would like to participate, call MSEA-SEIU Director
of Politics & Legislation Mary Anne Turowski at 1-800-452-8794.
MSEA-SEIU delegates to the convention are also invited to stop by our
booth. Also, look for our ads in the convention program booklet.
Legislative
Update -
Cliff legislation fails in Appropriations Committee by one vote, Child
Care bill passes
Despite being passed with bi-partisan support by both the House and
the Senate, L.D. 1693 (the "Cliff bill"), was scuttled by the Appropriations
Committee on April 18. Democrats Jeremy Fischer and Linda Valentino
joined all the Republicans on the committee to defeat the bill by a
vote of 6 to 7. Opponents cited a $7 million annual impact in the next
two year budget in justifying their vote against the bill.
While this is the closest that we have ever gotten to fixing the unfair
and immoral raiding of employee benefits to balance the budget in 1993,
to lose by one vote at literally the eleventh hour, after a hard-fought
legislative battle, is crushing. The deciding vote was cast by Rep.
Jeremy Fischer, a legislator who received our endorsement and help in
previous elections, and who has been a supporter of MSEA on other issues.
One bright spot has been the coalition that was formed with MEA and
MSEA to try to fix this problem that affects thousands of members of
both our unions. We want to thank all the members who made phone calls,
wrote e-mails, and visited the Legislature. The renewed political activity
this session did make a difference! This recent turn of events emphasizes
the need of our Union and members to become politically active and help
elect Legislators who will support us and our issues.
Win or lose, our union showed that we are a force to be reckoned with.
We were successful in enacting landmark legislation extending collective
bargaining rights to 2,200 family childcare providers. Those providers
mobilized to contact legislators, speaking both about this bill and
against the budget cuts that affected the membership as a whole.
The basic lesson: we are strong, but not strong enough. As we enter
an election season and look forward to the next rounds of negotiations,
we know that our enemies want to cut health and retirement benefits,
freeze public funding, and eliminate our jobs. We need to refocus on
our own vision of how this union can change members' lives, and then
get to work building power to achieve that vision.
George
Eastman: Riding in Peter's Memory
|
|
|
George
Eastman, shown above, is riding in the Tour de Cure in memory
of Peter Eichel.
|
When George Eastman thinks of his late friend Peter Eichel, he recalls
more than the local fishing trips, poker games or a trip to see the Portland
Pirates they enjoyed. He talks about that special way Eichel made everyone
feel right at home, no matter where they were.
“I’d known Peter for about 20 years,” recalled Eastman, an MSEA-SEIU
Steward who works for the midcoast region of DOT in Augusta. “What I
found special about Pete was he could get along with everybody. He was
very knowledgeable. He could talk on just about anything.”
Eastman had met Eichel through family connections, and they quickly
found they shared a strong belief in standing up for their co-workers.
In addition to serving as an MSEA-SEIU Chief Steward, Eichel over the
years served on the union’s Board of Directors and also on one of our
Executive Branch Negotiating Teams. Eichel remained active in the union
right up until his death on June 17, 2007, of diabetes-related medical
complications. He was 57. As well as being a dedicated state employee
and member of the union, Eichel proudly served his country in the U.S.
Navy, where he served approximately 15 years.
Since his death, Eastman has been thinking what he could do to honor
Eichel’s legacy. A bicyclist, Eastman has come up with a project that
he invites other MSEA-SEIU members or chapters to participate in. On
Sunday, May 18, Eastman will bicycle 60 miles on Mount Desert Island
in Eichel’s memory as part of the Tour de Cure, an annual fund raiser
for the American Diabetes Association. In connection with his ride,
Eastman invites union members, MSEA-SEIU chapters and others to make
a contribution to the American Diabetes Association in Eichel’s memory.
“Having known Peter and having known that he had diabetes, I just
figured this would be a good way to raise some money for the American
Diabetes Association and to also honor Peter’s legacy as a unionist
and a personal friend,” Eastman said.
“Peter wasn’t alone in dealing with diabetes,” Eastman added. “Throughout
Maine, over 71,000 people have diabetes. Nationally, nearly 15 million
people have been diagnosed with diabetes and it’s estimated that over
6 million more people are undiagnosed. I’d like to do my part to help
find a cure for this.”
Eastman, who lives in Pittston, has participated in the Tour de Cure
for seven years. He trains by cycling throughout his hometown, Dresden,
Whitefield and Wiscasset. He also trains on exercise equipment in his
basement. He figures he rides 400 miles conditioning for each Tour de
Cure, and approximately 1,300 miles a year.
To make a contribution in memory of Peter Eichel, send your check
payable to the American Diabetes Association to: George Eastman, 468
Nash Road, Pittston, ME 04345.
Help
Build Stronger Union Worksites!
Learn How at the 26th Annual NNEC-SEIU Summer Labor Studies Institute!
July 24-27, 2008 University of Maine at Farmington
The Northern New England Council of the Service Employees International
Union has teamed up with the progressive Wellstone Action training program
and our colleagues at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell Labor
Extension Program to provide an exciting, specially designed curriculum
for the 26th annual NNEC-SEIU Summer Labor Studies Institute.
This year's institute will take place from July 24-27, 2008, at the
University of Maine at Farmington.
Join unionists from throughout New England and beyond for two days
of specialized instruction on core one-on-one organizing and messaging
skills and how they can be applied in a practical way in the field —
including new member organizing, public communications about public
services, moving a complaint to an organizing issue, and continuous
bargaining over workplace issues such as changes in technology, work
organization and policies. The school will be a combination of large
group presentation and small group exercise work done in three smaller
groups. All participants will leave the Institute with an action plan
to implement in their own worksites.
This year’s Summer Labor Studies Institute offers two days of instruction
and three nights of camaraderie. Participants typically arrive on the
beautiful University of Maine at Farmington campus on Thursday afternoon,
July 24, and enjoy dinner together that evening. Social activities are
planned for all three nights. The instruction days are all-day Friday,
July 25, and again on Saturday, July 26, culminating with a lobster
bake followed by a karaoke/DJ dance. Participants are welcome to stay
on campus the night of July 26 before heading home after breakfast on
Sunday, July 27.
The Northern New England Council of SEIU includes SEIU Local 560
representing building services workers at Dartmouth College in Hanover,
New Hampshire; SEIU Local 1984, the State Employees Association
of New Hampshire; and SEIU Local 1989, the Maine State Employees
Association. To sign up for this year’s Summer Labor Studies Institute,
click
here to download a two-page flier/registration form.
Registration deadline is July 8. If you have any questions, call Tom
Farkas, NNEC-SEIU Summer Labor Studies Institute Coordinator, at 1-800-452-8794.
New Link
on This Website for Executive Branch Pay Study Updates
Appearing the "Features and Links" column on the upper left
of this website is a new link titled "Pay
Study UPDATES." Use this link to get the latest
updates from MSEA-SEIU members serving on the on the Executive Branch
Classification & Pay Study Committees in the Professional-Technical,
Supervisory and Operations, Maintenance & Support Services bargaining
units
Union
Adds 'Bulletin Board Posters' Section to Website
Please do your part to keep everyone informed in your worksite. Check
out the 'Bulletin Board Posters' menu on the left side of this website.
By following the link, you can view, download and print copies of posters
about upcoming union events, training programs and issues affecting
your wages, benefits and working conditions. Please post them on your
MSEA-SEIU Union Bulletin Boards.
Maine
State Workers
Are Working for You
By
clicking on the images above you can view
and print the full sized documents
U.S. Supreme
Court Agrees to Settle Narrow Question
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a Maine court case to settle
a very narrow issue: Should litigation costs that a national union affiliate
incurs relating to bargaining services be included in the calculation
of service fees for public workers of affiliated unions, if those litigation
costs are funded through a pooling arrangement?
The First Circuit Court of Appeals already decided that issue in a
ruling issued August 8, 2007, affirming our union’s service-fee calculations.
In an appeal funded by the anti-worker National Right to Work Committee,
the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to revisit this very narrow legal issue.
Our international union, the Service Employees International Union,
will take the lead role in defending our local before the U.S. Supreme
Court.
Blood Services
Workers at American Red Cross in Bangor Approve First Contract
Linda Morris, left, an American Red Cross collections specialist
and president of the MSEA-SEIU chapter representing blood-services workers
at the American Red Cross in Bangor, counts ballots with fellow collections
specialist Michael Conners in their first contract ratification vote
on February 1 at MSEA-SEIU headquarters. The Red Cross workers, who
chose MSEA-SEIU as their union last year, overwhelmingly approved a
three-year contract with base wage increases totaling 10.5 percent retroactive
to July 1, 2007. The contract includes a grievance procedure, just cause,
labor-management committees, and also a contractual right to take a
work break.
Attention MSEA-SEIU
Members! Please Save these Dates!
Please mark your calendars:
- MSEA-SEIU Statewide Steward Skills Training, May 12, beginning
at 8:30 AM, Augusta Civic Center. Registration is from 8 AM to 8:30
AM;
- The annual MSEA-SEIU Retirees Day will take place on
Tuesday, May 27, at 9 AM, Augusta Civic Center, North Wing, Upstairs;
- The annual NNEC-SEIU Summer Labor Studies Institute will take
place July 24-27 at University of Maine at Farmington.
SEIU: Repeal
the Social Security Offsets
In a statement on behalf of 1.9 million workers, the Service
Employees International Union drew upon the real-life stories of MSEA-SEIU
members in urging Congress to repeal the Social Security Offsets.
SEIU submitted its statement
to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance as part of the recent
hearing held on S. 106, the legislation to repeal the federal Windfall
Elimination Provision (WEP) and the federal Government Pension Offset
(GPO).
"SEIU has many members who are adversely affected by
the GPO and WEP provisions, the SEIU statement shows. "These provisions
unfairly penalize hard-working public servants who earned a secure retirement
and deter workers from pursuing a career in public service. SEIU supports
full repeal of both the GPO and the WEP, which robs public service workers
and their spouses of the benefits they have earned in retirement."
In arguing for repeal, SEIU described how the Social Security
Offsets have penalized MSEA-SEIU members such as Janice Gould of Randolph,
Reginald Goodwin of North Berwick, Richard Dressler of Stillwater, Paula
Scott of Houlton, Eileen Balzano of Portland, and Jacquelyn Roach of Oakland.
"I paid into Social Security. The Offsets are so unfair
to us retirees," Jacquelyn Road wrote. "It was our money that
went into Social Security and we are entitled to it."
MSEA-SEIU past retiree director Phil Wolley and MSEA-SEIU
Director and Vice President Ginette Rivard represented our union at the
Senate hearing held last month on S. 206. Special thanks to the over 50
MSEA-SEIU members who submitted written testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee
on Finance. We're encouraged that because of our determination on this
issue, Maine's entire congressional delegation favors repeal.
Now that the deadline for testimony on S. 206 has passed,
the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance is expected to take action on S.
206 in early 2008. Also in 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives plans
to hold hearings as well on legislation to repeal. We'll keep you posted
on any developments.
SEIU Job Openings
Organizers
Come join the fastest-growing and most progressive union
in America!
The Service Employees International Union seeks
talented, committed organizers for our MSEA-SEIU Home Care and Child Care
organizing teams. Organizers will assist home care and child care workers
in their fight for better wages, benefits, and respect on the job.
Duties include identifying workers who want to form a union,
building worker organizing committees, and moving workers to take action
on the job. Organizers will also assist with field research, community
outreach, and legislative campaigns as needed.
Qualifications:
· Commitment to social justice and to the labor movement
· Strong leadership and communication skills
· Ability to work independently and as part of a team
· Ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds.
· Willingness to travel and to work long and irregular hours
· Experience in union, community, and/or political organizing
Compensation: SEIU provides a competitive salary and full
benefits.
Please send resume and cover letter to: Emily Brown, MSEA-SEIU
Local 1989, 65 State St., PO Box 1072, Augusta, ME 04332-1072
Or by email: Emily.Brown@seiu.org
Questions
about Fair Share?
Click here for frequently
asked questions -- and the answers.
| From
the Desk of President Bruce Hodsdon |
|
| 
