State workers request meeting with Mills after pay demands go unheard
Now in their ninth day of working without a contract, state workers are requesting to meet with Gov. Janet Mills after her administration’s negotiators rejected their proposals to address the low pay of state employees.
The worker’s union — Maine Service Employees Association, SEIU Local 1989, which represents more than 9,000 state employees — sent an open letter on July 8 requesting the meeting after the Mills administration rejected 10 proposals from the union’s bargaining team.
“All but one of our 10 package proposals were rejected prior to the contracts expiring on June 30, so your negotiating team chose to let our contracts expire. We think that’s shameful,” the letter reads. “On behalf of the state workers we represent, we, therefore, respectfully ask you to meet with us at your earliest convenience and hear directly from state workers about their concerns about the state employee pay gap.”
Members of the bargaining team say the administration counter offers so far failed to address the longstanding pay gap between state employees and private-sector workers.
Read more: https://mainebeacon.com/32911-2/