2023 Maine Revised Statutes › TITLE 26: LABOR AND INDUSTRY › Chapter 9-A: MUNICIPAL PUBLIC EMPLOYEES LABOR RELATIONS LAW › 26 §975. Bargaining agent access

§975. Bargaining agent access
1.  Bargaining agent access to employees.
Public employers shall provide to a bargaining agent access to members of the bargaining unit that the bargaining agent exclusively represents. Access must include, but is not limited to, the following:
A. The right to meet with individual employees on the premises of the public employer's workplace during the work day to investigate and discuss grievances, workplace‑related complaints and other workplace issues;   [PL 2019, c. 389, §1 (NEW).]
B. The right to conduct workplace meetings during lunch and other breaks, and before and after the work day, on the public employer's premises to discuss workplace issues, collective bargaining negotiations, the administration of collective bargaining agreements and other matters related to the duties of a bargaining agent and internal bargaining agent matters involving the governance or the business of the bargaining agent;   [PL 2019, c. 389, §1 (NEW).]
C. The right to meet with newly hired employees, without charge to the pay or leave time of the employees, for a minimum of 30 minutes or for an amount of time agreed upon by all parties, not later than 10 calendar days after receipt of the information provided pursuant to subsection 2, during new employee orientations or, if the employer does not conduct new employee orientations, at individual or group meetings; and   [PL 2019, c. 389, §1 (NEW).]
D. The right to use the e‑mail system of a public employer to communicate with bargaining unit members regarding official bargaining agent matters including, but not limited to, elections, meetings and social activities, as long as the use of the e‑mail system does not create an unreasonable burden on the public employer's network capabilities or system administration.   [PL 2019, c. 389, §1 (NEW).]
[PL 2019, c. 389, §1 (NEW).]
2.  Bargaining agent access to employee information.
Public employers shall provide to a bargaining agent access to information about members of the bargaining unit that the bargaining agent exclusively represents, as follows.
A. Public employers shall provide the following information regarding newly hired public employees and, upon request, regarding all other public employees to a bargaining agent in spreadsheet file format or another format agreed to by the bargaining agent:
(1) Name;
(2) Job title;
(3) Workplace location;
(4) Home address;
(5) Work telephone numbers;
(6) Home telephone and personal cellular telephone numbers, if known;
(7) Work e‑mail address;
(8) Personal e‑mail address, if known; and
(9) Date of hire.
For information regarding newly hired public employees, the employer shall provide the information required under this paragraph not later than 30 calendar days after the date a prospective public employee accepts an offer of employment or not later than 30 calendar days after the date of hire for all public employees. At the request of the bargaining agent, but not more than quarterly, the public employer shall provide the required information for all other public employees in the bargaining unit within 30 calendar days.   [PL 2023, c. 467, §1 (AMD).]
B. The following are not public records as defined in Title 1, section 402, subsection 3 and are confidential and may not be disclosed by the public employer, except as provided in paragraph A:
(1) Home addresses, home or personal telephone numbers, personal e‑mail addresses and dates of birth of employees;
(2) Names of employees within a bargaining unit; and
(3) Communications between a bargaining agent and its members.   [PL 2019, c. 389, §1 (NEW).]
This subsection is subject to the dispute resolution process specified in an applicable collective bargaining agreement for a public employee.
[PL 2023, c. 467, §§1, 2 (AMD).]
3.  Bargaining agent access to government buildings and facilities.
The bargaining agent has the right to use government buildings and other facilities that are owned or leased by government entities to conduct meetings with bargaining unit members regarding bargaining negotiations, the administration of collective bargaining agreements, the investigation of grievances, other workplace‑related complaints and issues and internal matters involving the governance or business of the bargaining agent, as long as that use does not interfere with governmental operations. A bargaining agent conducting a meeting in a government building or facility pursuant to this section may be charged for maintenance, security and other costs related to the use of the government building or facility that would not otherwise be incurred by the government entity.
[PL 2019, c. 389, §1 (NEW).]
4.  Employee may opt out.
After an initial meeting pursuant to subsection 1, paragraph C, an employee may opt out of receiving any further communications from a bargaining agent or allowing a bargaining agent to have any further access to that employee's information described in subsection 2, paragraph A, except for communications related to direct representation of that employee by a bargaining agent.
[PL 2019, c. 389, §1 (NEW).]
5.  Selling or sharing nonmember data prohibited.
A bargaining agent may not sell or share the information provided in accordance with subsection 2, paragraph A of an employee who is not a member of an employee organization except for the purpose of fulfilling the agent's collective bargaining obligations.
[PL 2019, c. 389, §1 (NEW).]
Nothing in this section may be construed to limit the terms of a collective bargaining agreement that provide a bargaining agent with greater rights of access to employees than the rights established by this section.   [PL 2019, c. 389, §1 (NEW).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2019, c. 389, §1 (NEW). PL 2023, c. 467, §§1, 2 (AMD).