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AUGUSTA — Buried
in the state’s $5.8-billion budget passed at the
end of March is a wage contract approved by
Governor John Baldacci requiring non-union state
employees to pay union dues.
The contract
itself came as a surprise to many legislators,
who were caught unaware that a three percent
salary increase for this coming year and another
three percent next year had been negotiated for
the state’s 11,000 workers.
That contract
also continues the state’s practice of paying
100 percent of an employee’s health insurance
costs.
Late last week,
all of the state’s 3,000 non-union employees
received letters telling them that paying some
union dues “will be a condition of your
employment.”
Under the
contract negotiated with the Governor’s office,
non-union workers will be required to pay what’s
known as “fair share” dues to the Maine State
Employees Association — covering the cost of
representation in negotiations. That’s $6.71 per
week for full-time employees, versus $9.10 for
full union dues, and only 50 percent of that
will be required in the first year.
The fair share
dues do not include funds used for political
purposes, either inside the organization or on
state campaigns.
The MSEA
controls one of the state’s larger political
action committees, contributing almost
exclusively to Democratic candidates in state
elections. Last year it spent $149,724, mostly
on behalf of candidates, rather than direct
contributions to specific campaigns, in order to
comply with the state’s Clean Election Law.
While the union
has tried to get previous administrations to
sign onto the fair share provision, Governor
Baldacci was the first to agree.
“We tried to
both under Governor McKernan and Angus King, but
they were not interested,” said John Graham,
acting director for the MSEA.
A similar
request made on behalf of the state’s judicial
employees was rejected by negotiators for the
chief justice, Graham said.
While some have
accused Baldacci of politicking for union
support in his bid for re-election in 2006, his
spokesman said the Governor believes requiring
the dues from non-union members is the right
thing to do.
“The Governor
feels a certain sense of fair play here,” said
Lynn Kippax, his spokesman. “If workers,
regardless of their union affiliation, benefit
…. then it makes sense for everyone to
compensate the union for that bargaining.”
As for buying
union support, Graham said, “Anybody who thinks
that doesn’t understand how these things work.”
And the union already supported the Governor the
last time he ran.
“The Governor is
very supportive of organized labor. He’s always
been a friend of organized labor,” Graham said,
and has “an open ear” to workers’ issues.
Graham said the
issue is really with workers who have been with
the state for more than two years, since the
union already won fair share payments for all
new workers — both state and judicial — in
negotiations two years ago.
Some Republicans
are crying foul, and legislators from both
parties, who represent communities where a lot
of state employees live, say they’ve had a few
e-mails and calls.
Sen. Arthur Mayo
(D-Sagadahoc County) said he had heard from some
workers.
“I can
understand their not wanting to pay, but they
get all the benefits of the people that pay,” he
said, and “it’s a good contract.”
Rep. Elizabeth
Miller (D-Somerville) said she received an
e-mail from a non-union worker who was “opposed
and pretty indignant.”
“Generally, I
don’t want to mess with union contracts,” Miller
said, adding, “I understand the frustrations.”
Sen. Richard
Rosen (R-Penobscot and Hancock counties) said
he’s gotten several e-mails from people angry
about the dues and the letter saying that paying
them was a condition of employment.
“The union
didn’t hire me. Are they going to fire me?”
asked a worker, Rosen said.
Another asked,
if the amount of money collected by the union is
going up as a result of the fair share clause —
by an estimated $700,000 annually based on a mix
of full and part-time workers, “why aren’t the
dues going down?” |
