By Associated Press - Tuesday, August 15, 2017

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Maine’s Republican governor may claim a victory in his fight against mandatory union fees.

The Portland Press Herald reports (https://bit.ly/2fGgHSt ) Maine’s largest state employees union has agreed to a new two-year contract that would increase wages by 6 percent.

The agreement also would eliminate mandatory union fees for state workers who choose not to join the union.

Those fees cover costs such as collective bargaining and lobbying for 9,500 Maine State Employees Association workers.

The agreement now requires a ratification vote.

The union’s executive director, Rod Hiltz, says LePage offered a 1 percent increase over the two-year contract without the elimination of the mandatory fees.

Hiltz says the agreement doesn’t apply to all the union’s bargaining units.

The union representing state correctional officers and mental health employees rejected LePage’s offer.

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