Mills Administration Applauds MSLEA’s Ratification of a Two-Year Contract
The union’s two-year contract with the State will deliver a six percent pay increase effective immediately with another pay increase to follow
AUGUSTA, Maine – The Mills Administration today applauded the Maine State Law Enforcement Association (MSLEA) on its ratification of a two-year contract with the State of Maine.
The contract provides a six percent pay increase effective for the pay period closest to October 1, 2023, with an additional three percent pay increase to follow, effective July 1, 2024. The contract also establishes a new higher pay tier that provides a four percent increase over the lower tier for those employees who had reached their maximum allowed pay. It also increases paid parental leave, adds two longevity bonus increases, and allows incoming employees who have graduated from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy to start at a higher pay rate.
“MSLEA’s contract is the second approved union contract within the last month, once again demonstrating our commitment to provide meaningful pay increases as part of an attractive compensation and benefits package for our employees,” said Kirsten Figueroa, Commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services. “We deeply value our employees and their service and will continue to work hard to make the State of Maine an employer of choice.”
MSLEA’s agreement was formally ratified through a vote of the union’s membership on September 29, 2023. MSLEA is the State’s third largest union, representing approximately 375 positions.
The ratified contract builds on the pay raises the State has provided for MSLEA employees. Under Governor Mills, the State has increased wages by nearly 14 percent. This increase over four years amounts to 40 percent more than the increases provided over the entire decade before Governor Mills assumed office. This includes raising pay for employees by three percent in September 2019, four percent in January 2021, two percent in March 2022, and an additional four percent in July 2022.
In addition to these pay increases, the Mills Administration has:
- Established paid parental leave during the 2019-2021 negotiations and then doubled that leave from two weeks to four weeks in the 2021-2023 negotiations for the birth or adoption of a child (now increased to six weeks in the 2023-2025 MSLEA contract);
- Issued a one-time $2,000 payment to employees in March 2022 for law enforcement positions and prorated for seasonal, part-time, and/or intermittent employees.
- Improved longevity pay for workers with over ten years of service.
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