Over 700 hundred Maine workers and retirees
rallied outside the State House on March 3 opposing
Governor LePage's proposals that break the State
of Maine's promises to Maine's public servants
and retired workers. They spoke out against
the Governor's proposal to cut hundreds of millions
of dollars in retirement benefits to fund his
other proposals such as new tax breaks for Maine's
wealthiest residents. They called on all Maine
people to contact their state legislators and
urge them to develop a responsible state budget
that is fair to all Maine people.
The Governor is asking our state legislators
to break the State of Maine's promises to Maine's
public workers, teachers and retirees," said
Augusta resident Brenda Kaler, a State of Maine
retiree whose pension is $1,380 per month for
her 36 years of state service. "Those promises
are in exchange for a lifetime of work."
Tamra Keaton of Caribou works for the Maine
DHHS. She pays bills and records deposits for
200 adults with developmental disabilities whom
the Social Security Administration has determined
are not capable of handling their own finances.
She earns $634.80 a week with 11 years on the
job. She qualified for and secured a low-income
housing loan when she and her husband recently
purchased a house. Yet she and all other state
workers and teachers would take a 2 percent
pay cut under the Governor's proposals, all
to help fund his proposed more estate tax breaks
for multimillionaires and income tax breaks
for Maine's wealthiest residents.
It's wrong to take another 2 percent of my pay
to give tax breaks to the estates of multimillionaires
in Maine," Keaton said. "It's wrong to take
hundreds of millions of dollars out of the pockets
of Maine workers and retired workers to pay
for over two hundred million dollars in income
tax breaks for Maine's wealthiest residents."
Scott Austin, who works for the Maine Department
of Transportation, spoke about the consequences
of the Governor's proposal to push hundreds
of state workers into retirement and then freeze
their jobs.
The Governor's budget proposal would punch gaping
holes in the services Maine people count on,"
Austin said. "We fear that our department will
be targeted for hits. At DEP, we clean up sites
contaminated by oil or hazardous wastes, restore
water quality in lakes and rivers, improve air
quality, and respond to on average one home
heating oil spill a day. And that's just DEP;
state employees protect our most vulnerable,
provide law protection and prosecution, plow
and maintain our roads, maintain our wonderful
state parks and protect our wildlife."
After the rally, workers and retired workers
converged on the Appropriations Committee hearing
to continue testifying against the Governor's
proposed budget. So many people have been testifying
against the Governor's proposals this week that
they are being assigned numbers outside the
packed Appropriations Committee hearing room.Testimony
will continue on Friday, March 4, when Maine
teachers and retired teachers will share their
concerns.
Photo
slideshow from the rally.
