Maine State Workers Union Alleges Bad Faith Contract Bargaining

The Maine Service Employees Association, Local 1989 of the Service Employees International Union (MSEA-SEIU Local 1989) recently filed a prohibited practice complaint accusing Gov. Janet Mills’ administration of bad faith bargaining in its State of Maine Executive Branch contract negotiations.

Representing around 10,000 workers in four State of Maine bargaining units, the union alleges that Mills’ administration committed multiple violations of state law relating to the current negotiations for successor two-year contracts that expired on June 30, 2025, according to a Maine AFL-CIO statement.

The complaint claims that the Mills administration’s labor law violations in the current round of Executive Branch bargaining include prematurely declaring impasse, regressive bargaining, cancelling bargaining sessions following the premature declaration of impasse and otherwise engaging in behavior “designed to frustrate the collective bargaining process.”

The union is asking the Maine Labor Relations Board to order management to withdraw its declaration of impasse, and to cease and desist from bad faith bargaining.

“For years, workers have pleaded with the administration to deal with the widespread recruitment and retention problems in Maine state government created by wage structures that are simply not competitive,” said Mark Brunton, president of MSEA-SEIU Local 1989, in a statement.

“We have offered various solutions to lower turnover rates and attract qualified applicants to join state service. We know what is needed to stabilize the services state workers provide and that the people of Maine deserve, and it seems our pleas fall on deaf ears.”

A spokesperson for the Mills administration told Maine Morning Star that the state was taken aback by the filing, disputes each of the complaint’s allegations and anticipates filing its response by Dec. 15.

“The Administration will continue to negotiate with MSEA,” the spokesperson told the news site, “and [will] defend itself against these unfortunate claims before the labor relations board.”