State law enforcers eye union defection

AUGUSTA – Game wardens, probation officers, forest rangers and other state law enforcement officers begin voting this week on whether to break away from the Maine State Employees Association.

Members of the law enforcement unit, which includes 360 workers, feel like they’ve been neglected by the union, said Jeff Furlong, a probation officer.

“The state says, ‘This is what you’re going to get,’ and the union doesn’t fight back,” he told the Kennebec Journal.

Workers have three options: continue with the MSEA, join the Maine State Law Enforcement Association or have no union representation.

Maine State Employees Association Executive Director Tim Belcher said 250 of those 360 state workers are union members.

“We’re obviously concerned and disappointed that there’s some portion of this group that wants to leave,” he said.

When the union heard about the possible defection, its representatives called many of the workers at home to talk. The union understands those workers have difficult jobs and special issues that need to be addressed, Belcher said.

The Maine Labor Relations Board will tally the ballots once the vote is final on Sept. 30, labor relations executive director Marc Ayotte said.