AUGUSTA – A day before the expiration of state workers’ union contracts, Gov. Paul LePage told lawmakers Wednesday that he will push again next year for legislation to stop requiring nonunion state workers to pay a portion of union dues.
“I’m going to ask you all to look deep in your heart and say, is it right, is it right, to force someone to pay to keep their job,” he told members of the House as they finished up work for this session.
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LePage backed a bill to end the practice of having the state automatically take money out of state workers’ paychecks for the Maine State Employees Association. The Legislature carried the bill over to next year.
The union argues that it negotiates contracts on behalf of all state workers, so all of them should pay at least a portion of union dues to cover the cost of negotiations.
The administration and the union are now negotiating a new two-year contract. The current agreement expires today, although an evergreen clause allows it to stay in place for as long as 90 more days.
Both sides say the administration’s goal of getting rid of “fair share” payments has been a sticking point. LePage told lawmakers that he doesn’t think it can be handled solely at the bargaining table. He said polls show 70 percent support for eliminating the fair-share provision.
“Fair share needs to go,” he told the Senate. “My message to the union is very simply: Add value and people will come in flocks.”
LePage addressed several other issues in brief comments to each chamber. As is tradition, the governor thanked lawmakers for their hard work on the budget. He praised their action on state pension reform and tax cuts, and for passing a bill that makes major reforms to state health insurance regulations.
“I think there’s been some great work done,” he said. “Some of the work that was done was excellent.”
But he expressed disappointment that more wasn’t done to reduce the cost of electricity.
He said his department heads will spend this summer looking for ways to save money, and will start from scratch on the state budget.
Earlier in the day, LePage said he didn’t want to say too much about the Legislature because it had yet to complete its work.
“I will tell you that once they close up, then we’ll talk about it, because right now they still have some work to do and I don’t want to piss them off,” he told reporters after he signed legislation allowing public charter schools in Maine.
While much of what LePage said in the House and Senate was similar to year-end speeches by Gov. John Baldacci, he did upset some Democrats, who felt his remarks were out of line.
Rep. Mike Carey, D-Lewiston, called it “a temper tantrum.”
“I thought it was a temper tantrum beneath the office,” he said. “He had six months to engage the Legislature on his ideas for moving Maine forward; he won many of those debates, he didn’t win all of them. He came to us today to insist that he was right on all of them and he was going to shove it in the face of Maine people and the Legislature next January.”
After LePage addressed the Senate, Sen. Seth Goodall, D-Richmond, said he thought LePage’s comments on the budget were appropriate but the fair-share remarks were not.
“These discussions need to take place at the bargaining table, not at the end of a legislative session,” he said.
While wrapping up his comments to the Senate, LePage promised an aggressive agenda next year.
“I bid you all a good summer, rest up and we’re going to crunch you in January,” he said.
MaineToday Media State House Writer Rebekah Metzler contributed to this report.
MaineToday Media State House Writer Susan Cover can be contacted at 620-7015 or at:
scover@mainetoday.com
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