Bills to strengthen labor law enforcement, address understaffing advance

About 150 unionized workers fanned out in the halls of the State House on Thursday, hoping to get a lawmaker’s responsive ear. 

Kelli Brennan, a nurse at Maine Medical Center in Portland, wants legislators to know that a proposal to change nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals would improve patient outcomes.

Rumford millworker John Perry IV explained that health and safety has been jeopardized by the unpredictability of mandated overtime for pulp or paper manufacturing workers, though a bill before the legislature could impose limits. 

And Kevin Russell, vice president of the Maine Service Employees Association Local 1989, spoke to the continued fight to address chronic understaffing of state government, urging lawmakers create a special revenue account for salary adjustment.

These are among a handful of proposals that members of Maine’s American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations prioritized in a “Working Families Legislative Agenda” released Thursday, presenting a streamlined focus as the pace of legislative work ramps up with the session scheduled to adjourn in a little over a month. 

The day of action drew members of numerous unions, including the Maine Service Employees Association Local 1989, Maine State Nurses Association, United Steelworkers and Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 788.

This week, as committee work wraps up, several labor bills saw favorable, though divided, votes.

Legislature passes bill to strengthen penalties for labor law violations

On the Senate floor Thursday, a bill to strengthen penalties for labor law violations passed 22-12. This comes after the House passed the proposal Wednesday in a 75-63 vote, sending the bill to Gov. Janet Mills’ desk for approval. 

The Bureau of Labor Standards within the Department of Labor proposed changes to the rules to make initial penalties higher and the criteria for penalty reductions more stringent. 

Labor report highlights scant enforcement of wage and hour laws

According to a recent report from the bureau, last year Maine employers faced average penalties of 39 cents per wage and hour violation, and employers could expect a DOL investigation roughly once every 323 years. “Our deterrent effect has been non-existent in past years,” the bureau concluded. 

While the proposed rule changes have advanced, Thursday’s vote was not without debate. 

Sen. Matt Pouliot (R-Kennebec) spoke in opposition, arguing that the state should focus more on educating people about their rights, rather than putting more onus on businesses that may not be doing anything wrong. Adding to this point, Sen. Stacey Guerin (R-Penobscot) said the bill would put the state in a position of being “the enemy of Maine small businesses.” 

Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot) pushed back, saying small businesses would see decreases in fines under the rule change. Tipping also pointed out that the bill would not change strategic enforcement practices.

Committee backs legislation to close the pay gap

The State and Local Government Committee took action Thursday on the issue of understaffing in state government in a room packed with union workers wearing stickers that read, “Close the pay gap!”

Committee members were largely in favor of doing so, voting 6-4 “ought to pass” on a bill from Rep. Drew Gattine aimed to close the pay gap between state employees and their private sector counterparts as well as improve recruitment and retention of workers. 

The vote fell along party lines, with Republicans opposed and Democrats in favor, although three absent committee members have yet to cast votes. 

Out of the legislation in the unions’ agenda, Gattine’s is the sole bill with a fiscal note. 

Specifically, it would require the state controller to move $165 million from the unappropriated surplus of the general fund to a new special revenue account for salary adjustment. This proposal follows a measure from Gattine that Mills funded in her budget last year to implement a comprehensive review of the classification and compensation system for executive branch employees.

All bills with fiscal notes are vying for funding in the supplemental budget. So far, legislators gathered public feedback on Mills’ proposal, which includes saving $107 million — a decision criticized by conservatives and progressives alike as the state has maximized the rainy day fund at nearly a billion dollars.  

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Pointing to excess state revenue in recent years, Russell of MSEA told Maine Morning Star, “state and local government workers have been subsidizing the surplus.”

Because of this, Russell views the fiscal note in Gattine’s bill as the state providing workers what they are owed.

“That funding should have been earmarked” for state workers, Russell said. “There’s no excuse, absolutely not.” 

While Thursday’s vote was favorable for the union, Russell said he was disappointed that the vote was split, particularly noting comments from Rep. Joseph Underwood (R-Presque Isle), who said pay should be an agreement between an employer and employee, not addressed through legislation. 

“I don’t think he understands this is not just simply an employer-employee relationship,” Russell said, explaining the work of state employees affects all Mainers who rely on state services. 

Gattine’s bill also calls for annual reports on job vacancies in the executive branch and third party intervention when arbitration stalls (an issue during recent union contract negotiations).

Status of other labor bills

Other union-backed labor proposals include measures to provide relief to workers affected by federal shutdowns, limit mandatory overtime and improve nurse-to-patient ratios in Maine hospitals.

The group of unions has also tentatively thrown its support behind a likely forthcoming farmworker minimum wage bill, although the bill language has yet to be released as the committee Mills charged with creating a proposal failed to reach consensus after months of discussion. 

Brennan, the Portland-based nurse, said current staffing levels for nurses compared to the number of patients served is negatively impacting patient outcomes.

“We’re having to skip things and be really task-oriented instead of having the ability to use the nursing process to catch subtle changes in patient conditions that could lead to something terrible,” Brennan said. 

These day-to-day challenges balancing workload and patient care are why she supports a bill that would set minimum direct-care registered nurse staffing requirements based on patient care unit and patient needs. Called the Maine Quality Care Act, the bill proposed by Sen. Stacy Brenner (D-Cumberland) advanced out of committee last year with a favorable but divided vote but has yet to be taken up in the Senate for a floor vote.

Another bill included in the unions’ agenda would make mandatory overtime more predictable for pulp or paper manufacturing facility employees. The bill, sponsored by Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Aroostook), was carried over from last session but has yet to make it out of the Labor and Housing Committee.

On Thursday, Perry, Rumford mill worker and staff representative for United Steel Workers, spoke about the dangers of unpredictable and continuous mandated overtime, advocating for Jackson’s bill.

“After an 18-hour shift with a commute home, some workers are only getting three to four hours of sleep before returning to work,” Perry explained.

Pointing to studies that show going too long without sleep impairs driving ability the same way as drinking too much alcohol, Perry said safety is a major concern — for workers who are operating dangerous machinery but also for the general public, as these workers drive to and from jobs.

Most of the bills prioritized by the unions focus on state workers, however one bill, also from Jackson, would afford more protections to federal workers in Maine. 

Heard for the first time by the Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee on Thursday, the proposal would allow workers furloughed or required to work without pay during federal shutdowns to access state-backed, no-interest loans. 

This would include the thousands of workers from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, several of whom made the trip to Augusta to voice their support for the bill. 

“Every time the federal government faces the threat of shutdown due to lack of approved funding by our legislators in Washington, D.C., federal employees in the state of Maine are left to fear whether they will see a paycheck until the funding is approved,” said Alana Schaeffer, president of the Metal Trades Council at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and president of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 788. 

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard workers build the U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered attack submarine fleet. Workers include tradespeople such as electricians, pipefitters, general helpers, warehouse workers and machinists, who, Schaeffer said, with the help of Jackson’s bill could “remain dedicated to the defense of our nation, regardless of the political climate in Washington, D.C.”