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As a maintenance and highway worker for the Maine Department of Transportation, I know there’s a real problem with recruiting and retaining MaineDOT workers, and it’s mostly because of the low pay. State government pays us far below what other similar workers throughout New England are paid for the same work. MaineDOT can’t recruit or retain workers for these jobs because of the low wages. This problem is getting worse, not better.
The 2020 State of Maine Market Study Report shows that state workers on average are underpaid by 15 percent and that maintenance mechanics for the State of Maine are actually underpaid by 31 percent. A 2009 study reached similar conclusions.
There’s been a lot of talk in the Maine Legislature about the need for more funding for infrastructure like roads and bridges. However, how is the state going to get all that work done without a qualified and experienced MaineDOT workforce? MaineDOT keeps losing workers to better-paying employers in the private sector and at cities and towns statewide.
If MaineDOT wants to have the workforce it needs to maintain our network of roads and bridges, and to carry out all the infrastructure projects in the works, then the state must end the state employee pay gap. The Maine Legislature also needs to pass the majority report on LD 1854, the legislation requiring the state to complete and implement the classification and compensation study that was started in 2019 but never completed.
Dave Boudreau
Holden
