AUGUSTA, Maine — A union representing more than 9,000 workers from the state’s executive branch is pushing in its contract negotiations for the ability to work fully remotely. But city officials say a move like that would kill downtown Augusta.
More than 6,000 executive branch employees work from a combination of leased and owned office space in the capital area, which includes downtown Augusta, Hallowell and Gardiner. Less than a third telework, and fewer than 250 work remotely full-time, Sharon Huntley, a spokesperson for the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, said.
But the Maine Service Employees Association Local 1989 wants to increase that share. During its last round of negotiations, MSEA, affiliated with Service Employees International Union, argued that state workers who can demonstrate proficiency in teleworking should be able to do so full-time.
“The state has not agreed to that yet, but that is one of our goals,” Mark Brunton, president of MSEA-SEIU Local 1989, said. “I would say about 60 percent of folks who work in an office downtown or in Augusta would prefer to work full time from home.”
Brunton argues that telework provides a better work-life balance and cuts fossil fuel use by reducing the number of cars driving to work. The state stands to benefit from the arrangement, too, he said.
“The state is having a huge problem with recruitment and retention right now, because the wages are not competitive,” Brunton said. “Telework is one of those things that makes jobs more attractive. So really, we should be in the business of expanding telework.”
City officials will be in the other ear of state and local leaders, lobbying them to do the opposite. Augusta’s economy, especially downtown businesses that include restaurants, shops and grocers, depend on a daily influx of thousands of state employees – as well as lawmakers – to stay afloat, Keith Luke, the city’s economic development director, said.
“The city is historically geared up to meet the needs of those workers and [if] they stopped coming here, that would not be a good thing,” Luke said.
There’s no data showing how much business state workers do drive to downtown Augusta, Luke said. Kirsten Figueroa, commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, did not respond to a request for comment on whether the economic vitality of downtown Augusta would be a factor in deciding state telework policies.
But on days that state employees tend to telework, Tuesdays and Thursdays, Luke said he’s personally noticed a “definite downtick” in activity. More teleworking state employees could also affect the city’s tax roll, as those downtown offices would empty out.
“It would be, I think, a blow to the city’s tax base and budget if all of our state employees either ended up working from home or in state-owned office buildings,” said Rep. Bill Bridgeo, D-Augusta, who was the city manager here for more than two decades. “My hope would be that there’s still a commitment to maintaining that balance.”
More telework might not totally devastate the downtown area, as the city fears. Executive branch offices, leased or owned, haven’t been full since before the pandemic, but downtown businesses are still flourishing, Brunton pointed out. Many teleworking state employees already live in the Augusta area anyway, he added, and would patronize local businesses regardless of their work location.
“People who live in the suburbs, they still have an economic impact even if they’re not coming into the office every day,” Brunton said, adding that he lives in nearby China, but often travels to Augusta to shop and dine.
A good deal of that vibrancy stems from around 100 new apartments that have been built downtown in recent years, Bridgeo said.
“I think the downtown is not as desperately reliant on the presence of state office workers as it was 20 years ago,” Bridgeo said. “But they’re still important. It’s an important element.”