Bilking Government Workers
The state employees? union just received a $700,000 annual windfall from the governor.
Maine's 3,000 non-union state employees ought to march en masse to the office of Governor John Baldacci and ask him to explain exactly what is fair about "fair share." Tucked away in the $5.8-billion state budget bill passed by Democrats in March was a wage contract requiring, for the first time, that all non-union state employees pay union dues as a condition of continued employment.They call it "fair share," although it is anything but fair. Two years ago, coinciding with Baldacci's inauguration, state negotiators caved in to the Maine State Employees Association (MSEA) and agreed that all new hires from that point on - union members and non-members alike - would be required to pay "fair share" dues to the MSEA to cover the cost of contract negotiations.
