The Mills Administration and the Maine Service Employees Association (MSEA-SEIU Local 1989) have reached an agreement Thursday to resolve a labor complaint that will see state employees receive a one-time $2,000 payment and initiate a classification study aimed at modernizing pay structures.
Although state workers will receive what amounts to a consolation prize via the cash payment, the settlement is a clear victory for Gov. Janet Mills (D) and yet another embarrassing defeat for MSEA leadership, including its new president Mark A. Brunton and the union negotiating team.
The agreement, announced on Sept. 5, 2024, follows months of strained negotiations between the administration and the MSEA, which represents more than 9,000 government employees in the executive branch.
As part of the settlement, the Mills Administration admits no wrongdoing and will not have to come back to the bargaining table until the end of 2025, when a new independent report has been delivered to the state. The agreement effectively delays any potential pay increases for MSEA members for as much as two years.
The outcome of negotiations and the prohibited practices complaint is nothing short of humiliating for MSEA leaders, who campaigned vigorously in support of Mills during her first election and her re-election. Rather than getting repaid for their support with a friendly face on the other side of the negotiating table, the MSEA instead met negotiators whose eagerness to rebuke organized labor would probably make former Republican Gov. Paul LePage envious.
“I am proud of and happy with the agreement we have reached. It embodies the Governor’s longstanding belief that conversation is better than litigation,” said Kirsten Figueroa, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS), in a press release.
“Over the past nearly six years, the Mills Administration has significantly increased pay and benefits – by at least 24.1 percent – for State employees,” Figueroa said.
“This new study, bolstered by another generous lump sum payment, will advance our support of State employees and allow us to continue to focus on parity within our classification system,” she said.
Although the MSEA has historically been a staunch ally of the Democratic Party and Democratic politicians, and even campaigned for Gov. Janet Mills elections and re-election, union officials have had little success getting their demands met.
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The union had filed a prohibited practices complaint with the Maine Labor Relations Board earlier this year, accusing the administration of engaging in bad-faith bargaining tactics.
As part of the resolution, the state will hire an independent firm to conduct a classification study, which will assess the state’s compensation plans. The study, expected to be completed by December 2025, aims to ensure fair pay for employees performing similar roles. State employees will also receive a $2,000 lump sum payment in October 2024 while the study is underway.
The $2,000 payment will come as a welcome relief for state employees who, like most Maine workers, are dealing with higher electricity costs, high grocery costs, and higher taxes.
However, the agreement struck Thursday is an unambiguous loss for MSEA leadership, who have failed for more than 18 months to secure even slight concessions for their members.
The agreement may even lead to a rush of early retirements come November, as state workers who were considering new job opportunities take the $2,000 bonus and run, rather than waiting another two years to see whether potential pay increases materialize.
Long-Running Tensions
The MSEA initially sought a $5 per hour pay increase and a 22 percent raise for all state workers, followed by an additional 15 percent increase in 2024. The Mills Administration’s chief negotiator, Breena Bissell, essentially laughed that offer off the table, and it was never seriously considered.
Bissell, the hardball negotiator for the Mills Administration, received compensation worth $151,440.46 in 2021, the most recent year for which state worker payroll records are available.
In March, the MSEA filed its complaint with the Maine Labor Relations Board, alleging the administration had “walked away” from table and had been engaging in bad faith negotiations.
At the time, MSEA President Dean Staffieri said he was “appalled” by Bissell’s conduct and alleged that her conduct was illegal.
“We’re appalled by the behavior of the State’s chief negotiator and today filed charges of labor law violations for their failure to bargain in good faith,” Staffieri said in an email to MSEA members.
That complaint marked a major escalation in the conflict between the Democratic administration and a labor group traditionally seen as unfailingly loyal to Democratic politicians.
The Mills Administration, however, denied claims that her administration had abandoned negotiations. “We’ve been at the table for months now and have never left,” Mills said in a September 2023 radio interview. Nevertheless, tensions remained high, with union members rejecting multiple offers, including a five percent raise in October 2023 and smaller increases for 2024 and 2025.
The administration eventually requested mediation through the Maine Labor Relations Board in an attempt to break the deadlock. Though some union members had expressed frustrations with the slow pace of talks, the administration continued to emphasize its commitment to improving pay and benefits for state workers, citing a series of wage increases since Mills took office in 2019.
At the same time state workers have seen wages increase, however, inflation in the U.S. economy has run extremely hot, meaning those dollar-per-hour increases are worth less now then when they were originally secured.
Looking Forward
As part of the agreement, both parties will return to the negotiating table in May 2026 to discuss the findings and recommendations of the classification study. The administration will also submit a report to the state legislature by September 2026, detailing next steps for implementing the study’s recommendations.
The Mills Administration has touted this agreement as a step forward in its efforts to make Maine state government an “Employer of Choice,” ensuring that state employees receive competitive wages and benefits.
The settlement agreement effectively removes MSEA negotiations from Mills’ agenda until the completion of the classification study and could perhaps push any final resolution of the dispute past her final years in office.
In a joyless statement posted to the MSEA’s website, President Brunton said the settlement agreement provided a “reasonable” path forward, but there was no disguising the bitter tone of defeat.
House Republican Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) was quick to point up the irony of a staunch Democratic ally getting a raw deal from the Mills Administration.
“State workers have learned the hard way the same lesson Republicans learned the last two years when it comes to Janet Mills: what she said on the campaign trail isn’t what you’ll always get from her in office,” Faulkingham said.
“The Mills Administration negotiated in bad faith with the state workers, and they should remember that when they head to the polls this fall,” he said. “This new agreement is another attempt by Mills to kick the can down the road and yet again betray Maine workers.”
You get what you vote for Mainers!!!! the state is falling apart and the most useless group of people are give money from the taxpayers pockets. Well done Mainers!!
Unions have big power in California. Mariners must want same
Circle jerk is bad enough but holey shit not with your own family.
“…what she said on the campaign trail isn’t what you’ll always get from her in office” much like her position on killing babies.
Well, we have almost a billion bucks in the rainy day fund, and we are murdering babies at a record rate and housing/supporting illegals, no way can Mills afford to give you state workers a raise!
Bissell has been negotiating against the union for decades. She us also a human resources director in charge of (Helping Employees) within executive branch. Conflict of interest nah nothing to see here move along.