AUGUSTA, Maine — The dozens of union representatives who gathered before the Legislature’s Labor Committee to hear debate Wednesday on a controversial labor bill left feeling confused.
Without debate, Sen. Chris Rector, R-Thomaston, the co-chair of the committee, tabled LD 309, a bill that would eliminate the state’s requirement to collect union fees from nonunion public-sector workers.
“What just happened?” one audience member asked.
Rector explained it this way: LD 309 was one of several bills that needed to be dealt with by his committee as the session winds down. “I think we are not united on any particular side, so I think we chose to just leave it,” he said, explaining why the committee avoided a vote. “It’s late in the session.”
But that doesn’t mean the bill is dead. It still could be revived if leaders in the Legislature opt to pull it out of the committee without a recommendation.
“It can be taken by the presiding officers directly to the floor without a committee report,” Rector said.
Jim Cyr, spokesman for House Speaker Robert Nutting, R-Oakland, said he expects that to happen, but only if the committee does not report out the bill. That could still technically happen, he said.
Sen. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, said he expects leaders to ensure that LD 309 has a debate.
“I think we’ll have the fight upstairs,” he said. “The governor will just not give it up.”
Jackson said he’s convinced Gov. Paul LePage, who strongly supports the measure, lobbied to ensure a debate on LD 309.
“Obviously, we were hopeful that this would be brought back,” Adrienne Bennett, the governor’s spokeswoman, said after Wednesday’s committee action. “The governor doesn’t believe the state should be forced to garnish wages from nonunion employees.”
State employees are not forced to join a union. However, if they benefit from union negotiations on contracts and in labor disputes, they must pay their “fair share” in fees that are automatically deducted from paychecks. Those fees, typically, are significantly less than standard union dues.
LD 309 would make payment of those service fees voluntary for approximately 2,500 nonunion state employees.
Wednesday’s action, or lack of action, happened in front of dozens of labor representatives who gathered at the State House to oppose the bill, which was carried over from the last session because it didn’t have support. During the same session, the Senate killed a similar proposal, called “right to work,” that deals with private-sector workers.
It appears as though LD 309 still does not have much support — given that the Labor Committee avoided a vote.
Many opponents of the bill gathered at a State House event before Wednesday’s committee meeting to speak out against it.
“Where are the governor’s priorities?” said Mike Williams, a South Portland firefighter. “LD 309 won’t create more jobs, make workers more productive, or grow our economy; it just creates more conflict by striking at the rights of all workers. And that’s not good for any of us.
“LD 309 is another divisive and extreme proposal from Gov. LePage that is out of step with Maine values.”
Father Mike Seavey of the Catholic Diocese of Portland also spoke.
“All workplaces need to be places of morality and justice, where everyone contributes to and draws from the common good,” he said. “For workers to exercise these responsibilities, the right to organize and bargain collectively is essential. These rights are also basic human rights.”
Follow BDN reporter Eric Russell on Twitter @BDNPolitics.
unions have outlived their usefulness!
Sure, let’s ban all unions and see how long the (Republican) business owners will pay fair wages, schedule reasonable working hours, provide breaks,allow time off for family emergencies,etc. etc.
before we return to the salt mines.
OK do away with unions an at the same time unions will take away every thing that they have gotten for ALL workers in the United States like health insurance , a 40 hr work week, over time pay, vacation time, safety an every one would be working for 7:50 an hr working 12 hrs day 7 days a week at strigh time or the company will have you work 12 hrs buy you only get paid for 8 hrs. There would be no state or federal governments to help you . You are left to the will of the company
Republicans weasel out yet again.
They the dems go again with that fair share crap again.
And there goes the TeaParty w/its complete lack of knowledge re. the history of labor in this country. Try picking up a book once in a while, Jed, and educate yourself before the lot of you have the Blaine House looking like your Beverly Hillbillies’ mansion.
“LD 309 is another divisive and extreme proposal from Gov. LePage that is out of step with Maine values.”
Actually, LePage is only the mouthpiece for ALEC. This is another example of how he flat out lied when he promised to put people before politics.
I think the conservatives took a look at what’s going on out in Wisconsin with their Union busting maneuvers and conservative loses and simply said, hmm…LePage talks like, acts like and is controlled by the Koch brothers just like Scott Walker. Do we want to end up like the conservatives out there in November? “Nope, so let’s just make this thing go away until we’ve had more time to look it over (i.e. When the voter unrest with conservatives settles a bit).”
The Republican members of The Maine Legislature are starting to hear the drums of November beating off in the distance. For a majority of Republican members of The Maine Legislature they will be the drums that will end their political careers. Every day legislators who marched in lockstep to the beat of Paul Richard LePage’s drum are abandoning ship. Day after day we are seeing legislation brought forth by LePage either being heavily modified or in some cases rejected entirely by the legislature which is controlled by Republicans. As we approach the end of the second session of this legislature more and more republicans are coming to understand what We The People have long known. The people of Maine are good people. They are hard working and honest people who care about their families, friends and neighbors. Maine people can be fooled as they were in November of 2010, I was one of those who were fooled, by Paul Richard LePage and his false promises but they also have the ability to see what is happening within State Government and they know it isn’t right. To listen to Paul Richard LePage and his shrinking core of tea party supporters one would think the majority of Maine people were uneducated, lacking in any skills, lazy and were sucking off the public teat. That like a lot of other things that LePage and his band of followers have been telling us just isn’t true. I have yet to hear one positive word from Paul Richard LePage about Maine or her people. Contrast that to what Senator Susan Collins and the United States Navy’s highest ranking officer,
Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the Navy’s chief of naval operations said today in Bath, “Collectively, you’re known worldwide for your craftsmanship by five simple words: ‘Bath-built is best-built.’ BIW is truly a vital national strategic asset … and the men and women of BIW have always delivered on their promises to the U.S. Navy.”Greenert agreed.“It was so obvious as I was shaking hands with you workers, the pride you have in what you do,” he said. “You have an amazing legacy.”
Governor LePage and the Republican/MHPC/ALEC/Tea Party will try to slip this in at the last minute. They have no shame or compunctions about trying to take power from the common working people of Maine. This is the true agenda of this bunch. It is what they wanted when they ran for office under a pack of lies about putting people before politics.
I think the smarter Rs knew they were fighting on too many fronts. If you spread yourself too thin, you’ll lose everything.