The Check is in the Mail: Long-Overdue Pay Increases Secured for Maine Sergeants 08/09/2011

After nearly three years of fighting, Council 93 has secured long-overdue retroactive pay increases for a group of Local 2968 members working as sergeants working in Maine State Correctional facilities. 

The 32 officers will receive the pay this week in two separate checks.  One check will include the full increase amount the union negotiated through collective bargaining, while the second check will include the non-taxable interest the state owes on the delinquent payments.

I have two words for AFSCME, said Local 2968 member Curtis Doyle, “thank you.”   

In addition to active sergeants like Doyle, all eligible members who retired after the reclassification agreement was reached will receive the money they are owed.

The state agreed to the increases in December of 2008 as part of a job reclassification proposed by the union.  At the time, the sergeants were told they may have to wait a few months before their pay reflected their new classifications.  “That turned into many months and eventually years,” said Doyle.  “But the union kept fighting.”

Since the retroactive increase applies to both regular wages and overtime earnings, Doyle is expecting checks totaling approximately $6,500.  Doyle said the money will help purchase a used but “more reliable” car, college

books for his son, and heating oil to keep his family warm during the long Maine winter.  “These are all thing I would have had to borrow money for,” he said.  “I can’t thank the union enough.  They were instrumental through this whole process, from negotiating the reclassification to putting the money in our pockets.”

While Doyle recognizes and appreciates the benefits of being a part of AFSCME, he noted that sometimes, a few of his colleagues fail to realize the importance of being part of a union during these volatile times for public employees.  “Some people just don’t get it,” he said.  “For the life of me I can’t understand why.  It’s baffling.   I keep telling them if you take the union out of here we’re all going to be given a choice: come to work tomorrow for $9.00 per hour or don’t show up.”     

Council 93 represents more than 780 Maine State Corrections officers all of whom put their lives on the line every day on the job.  In an effort to raise public awareness of difficult work performed by these brave men and women, the Council recently produced a series of radio commercials that aired state-wide over a two week period in the spring.  The radio spots provided AFSCME members with the opportunity to speak directly to hundreds of thousands of citizens about the difficult and dangerous nature of their jobs. 

 To listen to the radio spots, click on the names of the individuals officers listed below:

Curtis Doyle

Phil Newth Part 1

Phil Newth Part 2

Tony Sweet