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BY SUSAN M. COVER
Staff Writer 05/13/2008

enlarge Staff photo by Andy Molloy

PICKET: Members of the Maine State Employees Union picket outside of the Medical Care Development offices in Augusta Monday afternoon to show solidarity with employees of the company that are attempting to organize a union. Approximately 180 employees of Medical Care Development are organizing with the Services Employees Union International, according to MSEA spokesman Tom Farkas.

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Mike Sylvester, organizing director for the union, said workers at the company have been threatened that if they organize, they will not get raises and could lose health insurance.

"The members of (the union) will stand by these workers to stop anti-worker tactics," he said.

A receptionist at the company, which provides services for the disabled and the elderly, said there was no one available to comment Monday.

Last week, company President John LaCasse said the allegations of threats by management are "absolutely false."

"We've always treated our workers very fairly," he said. "We give them pensions, health insurance benefits and many other benefits others don't provide. We aren't doing anything for or against what they are doing to unionize."

Medical Care Development is a nonprofit company with 30 locations in Maine that provides assisted-living services for elderly or disabled residents, according to the company Web site.

With corporate headquarters in Augusta, the company employs 600 people in Maine and in developing countries.

Sylvester said employees approached the union after reading about other organizing efforts involving child-care workers.

He said while the company is "generally a good company," the workers were hoping the union would give them better protection from budget cuts made by the Legislature.

"The workers don't really want to organize for themselves, but they want to protect their clients from cuts session after session," he said.

Susan Cover -- 623-1056

scover@centralmaine.com

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