Gov. Janet Mills twice won re-election with the backing of the state workers union. Now union officials are struggling to explain why Democratic leaders are giving state workers the shaft.
The union representing thousands of Maine executive-branch employees is warning members that contract negotiations with the Mills Administration have reached a breaking point, accusing state negotiators of lowballing pay raises and pushing “unreasonable and unlawful takeaways” in bargaining.
In an email sent to executive-branch union members, the Maine Service Employees Association (MSEA-SEIU Local 1989) said it has participated in 17 bargaining sessions over the last six months and spent nearly eight hours at the table in its most recent session. The union said a state-appointed mediator ended that meeting after, according to the union, it became clear management was “misrepresenting their ability to pay for a fair contract.”
This is just the latest development in state workers realizing that the candidate they backed for governor — twice — has tossed them to the curb. In early 2023, the union publicly escalated their simmering conflict with Gov. Janet Mills (D) by filing a prohibited practices complaint with the Maine Labor Relations Board (MLRB). Relations have only deteriorated since then, with the Mills Administration appearing to prioritize other members of the Democrat coalition, such as migrant voters, ahead of state workers.
In the latest email, the union told members that the state has insisted “2% and 2% raises are the most they can offer,” which MSEA described as “a fraction of the money the Legislature has authorized in the salary plan.” The bargaining team said that when union negotiators pressed for details, “their math just wasn’t adding up.”
Beyond pay, the union alleged the administration is seeking changes that would weaken employees’ ability to enforce protections related to reclassifications and reallocations, and said management has refused to make meaningful movement on non-economic issues such as job security.
“Stalling and creating confusion are egregious management tactics to disorganize us as workers,” the union wrote.
In its latest message, the union framed the negotiations as a turning point.
“So, we are at a crossroads,” the bargaining team wrote. “We can accept the pittance, or we can come up with a plan to fight and win.”
It’s unclear whether that new plan will deviate from the MSEA tradition of blindly voting for Democrats.
