I’m proud to be one of the Maine people who work to protect public health and safety and our environment. I work at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, where I am joined by hundreds of hard-working men and women who make sure the quality of our state’s air, water and land are benefiting working families and businesses all across the state.

Protecting Maine’s natural resources for all Maine people and the generations to come is just one way that public workers in Maine make our state a great place to live, work and raise a family. We understand the importance of making sure that quality public services are available for all Maine people. That’s why State of Maine workers have in the past and continuing in the present made major sacrifices to achieve a balanced state budget again this year. These included cuts to public employee pensions and freezing merit pay. We have proposed to the LePage administration a two-year contract that doesn’t increase costs at all.

Our proposal is another example of how state workers doing our part to help Maine’s economy get back on its feet. Please join me in calling on the LePage administration to do its part by settling the contract negotiations so both sides can get back to work.

Scott Austin

Winslow