Bring Balance to the Bargaining Table

The Labor Committee passed LD 1177, a bill would change labor law by mandating an arbitrator’s decision on contract negotiations be final on all matters, including salary and health insurance costs. If passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor, this bill would dramatically change our ability to negotiate. Currently, salaries and health insurance costs are not subject to binding arbitration. The inability to have binding arbitration on all matters weakens MEA members’ ability to make improvements at the bargaining table and gives too much control to employers.

LD 1177, along with LD 240 (right to negotiate over education policy) and LD 900 (right to strike for public employees) are three critical bills MEA is working on this session. These bills bring balance to our collective bargaining process.

We could use your help finding out where your legislators stand on these issues. Could you send an email to your state senator and representative and ask? http://bit.ly/MEA-Labor-Bills

#RedforEd – Wednesday, April 17 – Have you Signed Up Yet?

MEA hopes members will attend the MEA #RedforEd event at the State
House on Wednesday, April 17: http://bit.ly/RedforEd-ME. If you attend,
MEA will try to connect you with your legislators so you can talk to them about the issues that matter to our students and schools. Two critical
bills will have public hearing on MEA’s #RedforEd Day. The Labor
Committee will consider input on LD 900 to give educators the right to
strike, and LD 1370, to protect public school employees from being
assaulted atwork. It will be a busy, awesome day! Please sign up to attend
today!
http://bit.ly/RedforEd-ME.

Make Your Voice Heard: Contact Your Legislators
Before April 17, please make your voice heard and email your legislators about the following key labor bills: http://bit.ly/MEA-Labor-Bills
LD 900– Right to Strike: http://bit.ly/LD-900
LD 240 – Negotiate on Ed Policy: http://bit.ly/LD-240
LD 1177 – Binding Arbitration: http://bit.ly/LD-1177