November 2018 Maine Question 1
[1] Supporters, led by the Maine People's Alliance, worked to place their proposal to increase access to home health care in Maine, in response to what they state is the fact that home health care workers have been overworked and underpaid for years.The question that will appear on the ballot is: "Do you want to create the Universal Home Care Program to provide home-based assistance to people with disabilities and senior citizens, regardless of income, funded by a new 3.8 percent tax on individuals and families with Maine wage and adjusted gross income above the amount subject to Social Security taxes, which is $128,400 in 2018?Former Maine Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Daniel Wathen has said the proposal is "deeply unconstitutional in many respects".[2] Opponents also claim the proposal is a "trojan horse" to implement pro-labor union policies in the home health care field, as the proposal classifies home health care workers as state employees for purposes of collective bargaining.Supporters respond to the pro-labor claims of the proposal by conceding that language in the bill is meant to encourage, but not require, union membership, in order to improve working conditions and pay.