Council 93 is pleased to announce that Maine Staff Representative Sylvia Perry has been assigned to handle the state jurisdiction. In addition to serving as part of the contract bargaining team, she is now the staff contact for grievances and other member concerns.

A well-known and respected Local leader before becoming a staff rep, Sylvia will also be working to educate and mobilize members on the proposed tax cap that will soon be placed before the voters.

"A lot of state employees think that a tax cap for cities and towns will not affect them," Perry said. "But we’ve seen similar proposals implemented in other states and their experience is that the state functions as a bail out, shifting state funds in the direction of local services. That takes away from funding for state programs and state employees and can possibly increase state tax burdens."

Perry says that it is in the interest of state employees not only to vote against the tax cap, but also to get the word out to other voters before the upcoming vote, which is expected to be very close.