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Legal professionals who are members of IAM Local S89 employed at McTeague-Higbee, a Topsham, ME law firm that has represented organized labor in Maine for decades, unanimously ratified a new contract with pay raises and other improvements.
Wage increases of 6.5%, 4%, 2% that will balance out inequities in the wage system due to labor market compression and other factors, and an increase to the pension contribution. Two more categories of family added to the company bereavement policy, and adoption of a child added to the parental leave policy. The new deal also provides time and a half for members required to work during a pre-approved vacation.
“The bargaining went very well,” said Carol Sanborn, a paralegal and President of Machinists Local S89. “We needed only two bargaining sessions which, together, took a total of about two hours. The company came to the table ready to listen and negotiate seriously and with IAM District 4 Directing Business Representative Jay Wadleigh, we were able to work it all out in the second session.”
“My thanks go out to this Bargaining Committee,” said DL 4 DBR Jay Wadleigh. “They were prepared, and it showed. My thanks also to McTeague-Higbee for being open to working with organized labor.”
“Congratulations to DBR Jay Wadleigh, President Sanborn, and the Bargaining Committee on a job well done,” said IAM Eastern Territory General Vice President Brian Bryant. “Our members work hard and this agreement reflects their hard work and dedication.”
The Topsham law firm specializes in employee/plaintiff-oriented labor law, workers’ compensation, discrimination, and personal injury cases, and has enjoyed a long relationship with Maine AFL-CIO, and its affiliated unions.
