The Mills administration has reached an agreement with the Maine Service Employees Association, SEIU Local 1989, to provide a one-time payment of $2,000 to thousands of state workers. This agreement comes after a complaint filed by the union regarding state employee compensation. The union argued that the administration’s 2020 pay study was outdated and that state employees had fallen behind comparable public and private sector workers.
In response to the complaint, the administration agreed to the one-time payment and a new review of state employee compensation, to be conducted by a third party. The deadline for the report is Dec. 31, 2025, with negotiations to follow in May of 2026.
The administration highlighted other efforts to improve pay and benefits for state workers, including salary increases, promotion pay, merit increases, and various stipends. They also noted that half of all state employees are eligible for a new salary bracket that brings their overall pay increase to about 29% in the last six years.
The union had previously ratified contracts that included raises, payments, and additional benefits for state workers. The agreement with the administration is seen as an important step in addressing longstanding issues with compensation and classification for state employees.
The one-time payments of $2,000 will begin in October for full-time state workers, with prorated payments for part-time, seasonal, and occasional workers. The total cost of the payments and details about exceptions were not immediately available. This agreement is part of the administration’s efforts to close the gap in pay between state workers and the private sector and improve working conditions for state employees.
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