Maine’s Department of Transportation has seen a flurry of applications for new snowplow drivers in recent weeks, following wide publicity about several dozen vacancies this winter. But the DOT will still have to contend with pay scales in southern Maine that are lower than what the competition offers.
DOT spokesman Ted Talbot says the news is good.
“We’ve received hundreds of applications statewide and that’s very encouraging. One of the challenges is that not everybody has the CDL license, and that takes a while, so we’ll get them to that CDL experience,” he says.
In southern Maine, where competition is fiercest for qualified drivers, Talbot says the department now has fewer than 20 vacancies. But he acknowledges competitors may be able to offer higher pay.
Those include the Maine Turnpike Authority, where executive director Peter Mills says plow drivers in southern Maine start at $5 an hour more than what DOT drivers make.
“We pay $18.50 and we compete about head-to-head with the towns at that price. The state just will not recognize a geographic differential, they don’t for any of their employees,” he says.
Talbot says his agency recognizes the issue and may try to address it later this year. But for now, he says, it’s focused on getting through this winter — including the next big storm, predicted for Wednesday into Thursday.