Legislators Call on Mills to Close the Pay Gap for State Employees & Settle a Fair Contract

PHOTO: MSEA members picket the Blaine House on Oct. 6.

72 Maine state legislators, including Senate President Troy Jackson and House Speaker Rachel Talbot, signed a letter to Governor Janet Mills asking her to close the state employee pay gap. The Maine Service Employees (SEIU 1989) has been in challenging contract negotiations with the Mills administration for months over Mills' refusal to meaningfully raise wages for state executive branch employees to address dire staffing levels.

“We urge your administration to seize the opportunity of the current MSEA-SEIU Local 1989 contract negotiations and the State’s historic budget surpluses to correct the longstanding pay inequity for state workers to help stabilize the essential services they provide to the people of Maine,” reads the letter.

The lawmakers wrote that they had heard testimonioes from Maine Department of Transportation about working up to 42 and a half hours straight during blizzards, state child protective case workers overwhelmed by high caseloads, state custodians struggling to make ends meet on $17.54 an hour after 20 years of state service and mental health workers at the state psychiatric hospitals whose jobs have become more dangerous due to high turnover.

The letter notes that two state studies one in 2009 and another in 2020, show that workers in the executive branch are underpaid by 15 percent on average compared to their private sector counterparts.

“Furthermore, we are extremely concerned thatthe state employee pay gap has continued despite record state revenue surpluses,” the letter continues. “It should be noted thatstate surpluses just grew by another $141 million with the conclusion of the 2023 fiscal year.”

So far this month MSEA members have held around twenty worksite pickets at several locations including outside the Blaine House, DOT headquarters, DHHS offices at Lewiston and Portland Jetport and other locations.