AUGUSTA - Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, presented LD 1792, An Act To Support Employees of the Riverview Psychiatric Center, Including the Riverview Psychiatric Center Outpatient Services Team, before the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee last week.
The bill would require a wage increase of $3 per hour for all employees of the center, which offers treatment, education and research for individuals with serious, persistent mental illness, as well as co-occurring substance use disorders. Riverview also treats forensic patients: individuals who are detained in the hospital because they have been found not guilty of crimes committed due to mental illness.
"My teenage son has been earning more for the past two years at an unskilled summer job than some workers with masters degrees earn today at Riverview," said Berry. "Given the importance of their work and the unique challenges these professionals face serving individuals with serious mental illnesses, it is imperative that we do better. Employees working both at Riverview and in outpatient services endure punishing, unsafe, exhausting and at times dehumanizing working conditions. They do this for the sake of those they serve, not merely for pay, but burnout and turnover are real and present concerns, especially now."
More than 100 people submitted written testimony for the bill's public hearing, with the overwhelming majority expressing support for the legislation.
"This legislation is necessary because the ongoing public employee recruitment and retention problem in Maine State Government does in fact constitute an emergency," said Jeff McCabe, Political and Legislative Director for the Maine Service Employees Association. "The State has consistently fallen short when it comes to respecting, protecting and paying these workers fairly for their labor."
The Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee will hold a work session on the bill in the coming weeks.
Berry represents House District 55: Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Swan Island and most of Richmond. He previously served from 2006-2014, the final two years as House majority leader, and returned to the House in 2016.
Contact:
Jackie Merrill [Berry], c. 812-1111