Yet again this year, anti-union legislators and Governor LePage submitted so-called “Right to Work” bills in Augusta, despite the fact that we have defeated them numerous times since 2011. “Right to Work” bills are designed to weaken unions and drive down wages and working conditions. Under these laws workers can contribute nothing to a union, yet gain all the benefits and full representation. LD 489 would have made union security clauses illegal in Maine, meaning that workers and employers could not agree that all workers share the costs of collective bargaining and representation. Under federal law, no worker is required to join a union, but unions have a duty of fair representation to represent all workers in a bargaining unit, whether they join the union or not. Many unions negotiate a clause that workers who don’t join the union contribute to the costs of bargaining and enforcing the contract. This bill was defeated with bipartisan opposition in both the House and Senate.

Many workers use payroll deduction to make charitable donations, loan and bill payments and to pay their union dues. LD 404 would have banned teachers, firefighters, bus drivers and other public sector union members from paying dues through payroll deduction. State employees with the Maine State Employees Association have used payroll deduction to pay dues since 1952. It is efficient and effective. There is no reason to ban this other than to make it harder for unions to function efficiently. This is a negotiated, contractual issue and should remain in the collective bargaining process. The bill was defeated in the House and Senate.

Most union contracts include an amount of administrative time, or union leave time, allotted to workers who are union representatives so they can address important labor-management issues. This can include serving on labor-management committees, bargaining, addressing grievances, and other important workplace issues. LD 1319 would have prohibited public sector unions and employers from agreeing that some union business can be done on paid time. Most often, resolving these issues benefits both management and workers and improves efficiency in the workplace. This is a negotiated issue that should be left to the bargaining table.

The rationale behind prevailing wage laws is that state and federal governments, as major purchasers of construction services, should not depress wages. Maine’s prevailing wage law applies to public construction projects, like roads, sewers, bridges, etc., that are funded by taxpayer dollars. There is currently a loophole in Maine law that allows public school construction to escape prevailing wage requirements. LD 117 would have required that Maine workers are paid a prevailing wage on all public works construction projects where the contract includes state funding, including public school construction. This would ensure the highest quality school construction and that public dollars support good wages and working standards. The bill was defeated by Republicans in the Senate.

The New Markets tax credit program is one of the worst examples of corporate fraud and abuse in Maine history. Originally designed to encourage new investments in economically struggling parts of Maine, corporations and out of state financiers abused the program through the use of phony one day loans and complex financial maneuvers. Despite not making any real investments in Maine, they stand to receive more than $35 million in taxpayer dollars. The amended bill would have banned the use of financial gimmicks like one day loans, recouped taxpayer dollars for any “sham transactions” that occurred and launched a much needed investigation. The bill passed overwhelmingly in the House yet failed along party lines in the Senate.

Our economy is out of balance. People’s wages and incomes are not keeping up with the rising costs of groceries, childcare, housing and other basics. The problem is rooted in stagnant wages and staggering inequality. Wages for the bottom 70% have been flat since the late 70s, while almost all the gains from the increasing productivity of our workforce have flowed to the top. We can all agree: If you work full-time, you should not live in poverty. But, in Maine minimum wage workers cannot make ends meet on $300 per week for full-time work. It is far past time to raise the minimum wage, and a majority of Maine people agree. LD 92 was one of a number of bills to raise the minimum wage, and was amended to raise Maine’s minimum wage to $9.50 by 2018. While not a living wage, we supported this bill as an important step in raising wages.

LD 1431 would have created “Right to Work business zones” where union security clauses between workers and employers would be illegal. So-called “Right to Work” bills are designed to weaken unions, depress wages and undercut workers’ ability to negotiate decent contracts. The flawed logic behind LePage’s latest bill is that by weakening collective bargaining rights and lowering wages, along with massive tax breaks for huge companies, Maine could attract large employers to come set up shop. This is a race to the bottom approach, and it’s not smart economic development.

Millions of dollars in state procurement for construction materials and other goods are spent every year, yet there is no formal preference for buying USA made goods with those taxpayer dollars. LD 407 would have created a preference for American made goods for public procurement. Buy American provisions would create and support jobs in manufacturing here in the U.S. and would help stabilize our economy. Although there were plenty of common sense measures in the bill that would allow for exemptions when American made products were not available in the proper quantity or quality, Republicans blocked this bill from moving forward.

In 1965, the average US CEO made 20 times the average worker. Today, CEOs make 331 times the average worker! This explosion in top executive pay is driving staggering levels of income and wealth inequality that hurt workers, our economy and our democracy. This bill would have required Maine’s largest employers to annually report the ratio between the pay of the highest paid executive and the lowest paid full-time worker. This would help address inequality and push much needed reform in corporate governance and compensation practices. The bill passed the House but failed in the Senate.

Workers are on the frontlines of exposure to toxic chemicals in the workplace. Toxic exposure contributes to soaring cancer rates, learning disabilities, birth defects and increased asthma and allergies. 40,000 Americans die prematurely each year from exposures to toxic substances at work. That’s why we support every effort to improve workplace health and safety. This bill sought to prevent harm to workers by establishing joint worker-employer committees in the workplace to find safer alternatives to harmful toxic chemicals when that is economically feasible to do. The bill passed the House but was defeated along party lines in the Senate.