Faced with a choice of remaining with their current union or affiliating with an unproven and unaffiliated organization, a unit of county corrections officers in Maine recently voted overwhelmingly to stay with AFSCME.

The officers, members of Local 1828, rejected affiliation with the National Employees Corrections Union (NCEU) by more than a 3-1 margin.

NCEU does not devote any resources towards organizing new, non-union members.  Rather, the organization's leaders focus exclusively on raiding existing unions. This time, NCEU targeted a unit of 60 officers working at the Penobscot County Jail in Bangor. 

In the months leading up to the election, NCEU made a number of empty promises to the officers. But with 77% of voters choosing AFSCME, the election results were a clear indication that the officers are pleased with the service they receive from AFSCME, and confident that Council 93 is providing them with the best representation possible during these extremely difficult times for public employees.

Frank Moroney, the Special Assistant to Council 93 Executive Director Tony Caso, lauded the work of AFSCME staff and Local 1828 members who fought off the misleading campaign by the raider organization. “Our staff and members did a fantastic job,” Moroney said, noting specifically the contributions of Council 93 Staff Representative Jim Mackie, AFSCME International’s Tim Birch, Local 1828 President Sean Emery, and members Mark Domenech and George Dean who serve as unit chair and vice chair respectively.

“True trade unionists spend their time and resources trying to bring the benefits of union membership to workers who do not already belong to a union,” Moroney said, noting that AFSCME had recently organized more than 500 new union members at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst. “We wish we could focus all of our organizing efforts on increasing union membership. But unfortunately, because of misleading organizations like NCEU, AFSCME must also devote some of its resources towards dispelling lies and protecting our members from being duped into paying dues for substandard service.”