AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine House has voted to support a bill that eliminates collective bargaining rights for private child-care providers who receive state subsidies.
The vote Monday was 76-66.
The Portland Press Herald reported that the bill passed in the Senate last week. After another round of voting, it will go to Gov. Paul LePage’s desk, who supports it.
The bill would repeal a law passed by the Democratic majority in the Legislature in 2008 to allow providers who are not state employees, but receive state subsidies, to unionize.
About 200 of the state’s 1,300 family child-care providers have joined the Maine State Employees Association for union representation.
Opponents say child care providers need a voice at the State House to ensure they have a say in state regulations.
Republican Tea Party Thugs are still at it with their, War on Women. God forbid, that a woman made a living wage taking care of children. You Republicans are the worst of the worst. I’ll be there in November with a vast majority of women to vote all of you Republicans OUT OF OFFICE.
Vote Anybody BUT a Republican.
Sorry, you’re doing nothing but spouting rhetoric. Why should non-employees of the state be allowed to join a union for state employees? Maybe we can make farmers join the state employees union because they receive a subsidy from the state!
Pretty soon, everyone would be a state employee union member and taxpayers would be extorted for all sorts of crazy things!
See my post above. Your thoughts?
I’m with you on the pension for sure. It’s not a career, therefore a pension should not be part of the package. I’m okay with a health insurance policy while in office. Not a health insurance policy once they leave office.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zy23pvkobU
Exactly.
Teamster Union represents nursing home employees, police, corrections officers. None of which drive trucks. The union is not a state union. It is mearly a union that represents state workers and others.
There is not extortion involved here. Just people wishing to have more representation in their working lives.
Members of Maine’s State Legislature are not State employees and neither is the governor.
So why do they enjoy State paid State employee health insurance and a pension?
Where’s the bill to end this abuse?
I’m OK with ending their insurance and pensions but what does this have to do with joining the union?
It seems noone really cares about child care as it is provided by wonderful people; they should all turn in their license and do something else for money, they are not appreciated, they are degraded and held with disrespect. Forgetaboutit! Walk off the job and onto something more appreciated. Let the state wollow in their decision.
What we need is a good civil rights march on the GOP headquarters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zy23pvkobU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zy23pvkobU
“The vote Monday was 76-66.”
Is that along Party lines, or not ?
What kind of newspaper doesn’t report that ?
Sooner or later this nonsense is gonna be put to a stop, either thru legislation or thru court action when someone finally realizes that people are being denied their civil rights to collectively bargin for condition’s, benefit’s and clearly called for legal job protection’s. What is not really mentioned, not really surprising given LePage’s very public statement’s regarding Maine’s workforce, is the fact that collective barginning is also done to protect the worker’s from abusive employer’s, manager’s and supervisor’s. How many child care provider’s are, right now, having to decide between their reporting a child abuse case that they have knowledge of that will cost them their job, since they know they now have no legal or employer support from the lawsuit’s inevitably coming, or keeping their mouth’s shut to protect their job ? I hope LePage is proud of himself.
Folk’s it’s a nasty and very real question that’s being faced everyday and you folk’s who do child care know it all to well. That the Governor makes all of these hoop-la statement’s regarding Domestic Violence and then turns around and does everything possible to punish the people who are the 1st one’s to see, and be legally required to report, the damage to the most defenseless of society make’s me more than a little sick. Maybe if he spent some time at one of the hospital’s on a Friday or Saturday night seeing these kid’s come in all torn up he might think better. In the mean time I hope he can live with himself. A child’s death is a pretty expensive way to rationalize a political position. Even Santorum knew that. I’m just wondering what the body count’s gonna have to be before the Senate and House GOP decide to tell LePage ‘NO’ in no uncertain terms and actually stand up for what they’re supposed to, considering their current Candidate’s position’s ? Leadership when things are going good is easy. But real leadership is being responsible when things are going to crap and no one wants to stand up for those most affected and abused. So, who in Augusta’s gonna step up first ?
Wow, lot to say! You missed the point, THESE folks are NOT state employees! No one is saying they cannot be in a union, there are several unions that will welcome them, it is that simple. Not a state worker, not a state union!
Anyone wanna ask AFSCME if they’ed be interested in these folk’s ? How about SEIU ? The only reason that LePage’s thug’s are pushing this so hard is a simple fact. State or otherwise, the GOP is terrified of organized labor. Given the resulting mess that LePage has made here in Maine, as well as ‘Fat Man’ Christie in Jersey, ‘King Richard’ Snyder in Michigan and ‘Do Nothing’ Mary Fallon in Oklahoma, the writing on the wall is being seen. And, as if there’s really a need to demonstrate it, if anyone thinks that LePage’s thug’s are just picking on the State folk’s, just go look at what LePage did to the folk’s at DeCoster. Given the assault, if not outright rape, of organized labor, not to mention the average taxpayer that expects Gov’t to work, November is coming none to soon. The only obvious question remaining is a simple one. Will the Democrat’s and Independent’s actually start to work together to make things better or are they gonna’ just go back to the days of Baldacci ? Maine deserves better and God only knows how many abject lessons of the WRONG WAY to do it have been made. Isin’t it about time that the RIGHT WAY was given a chance ?
Why don’t we just import a bunch of foreigners for $14 a week to do this work? After all we are in this great race to the bottom to see if we can get folks to work for less money than it costs to feed and house a slave.
We are talking about taking care of CHILDREN here. I certainly would not want any child that I cared about being minded by “the cheapest labor around.”
ALSO I thought this was the USA, not Soviet Poland.
Apparently, this particular short session is about ridding the state of the right to organize labor. Not that it’s a big deal, unions don’t have that much pull nowadays, with the exception of……you guessed it, state employees, teachers, cops and maybe nurses. Those positions that cannot be filled by “replacements”……go figure.
Let’s see who is on the hit list next? Will it be teachers, janitors, state police, corrections officers, highway maintanence workers?
My question is who the hell do these legislators think they are? Who are they to tell anyone that they don’t have any rights to join any union they wish to join?
If the citizens of this state allow this outrageous behavior to continue without a general walkout, we are all doomed to become Mexico North.