State officials project budget surplus, union says excess could close pay gap
Unionized state workers argue Maine has the resources to meet their ongoing demands to close the pay gap, citing the projected $265 million budget surplus for the current biennial state budget announced by the Revenue Forecasting Commission on Tuesday.
State executive branch workers in the Maine Service Employees Association, Local 1989 of the Service Employees International Union, are approaching their sixth month working under expired contracts. The union’s key demand in negotiations has been to increase wages. State workers are underpaid compared to the wages earned by their public and private sector counterparts, studies from 2009 and 2020 show.
The 2020 study showed that on average, state workers are underpaid by 15%, with certain positions facing even greater shortfalls.
The Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS), which has been leading negotiations for the state as part of mediation called for earlier this fall, told Maine Morning Star on Thursday that Gov. Janet Mills’ administration is committed to providing a pay raise.
Read more: https://mainemorningstar.com/briefs/state-officials-project-budget-surplus-union-says-excess-could-close-pay-gap/