AUBURN – In a vote Monday a band of 49 city employees from city engineers to data base managers agreed to form a union and join the the Maine State Employees Association, SEIU Local 1989, according to a press release issued by the union late Monday.

“In this difficult economy, Auburn residents are counting on quality public services that are reliable and provided with the highest level of accountability,” Don Vachon, a City of Auburn maintenance worker who maintains Auburn City Hall, the Auburn Public Library and more said in a prepared statement issued with the release. “City of Auburn workers are thrilled that we now have a voice at work to maintain reliable services for everyone in Auburn.”

Vachon said the next step for the workers in the 49-person bargaining unit is to negotiate their first contract.

Representatives from the Maine Labor Relations Board in Augusta counted the election ballots cast by the workers, the release stated.

According to the release, “the bargaining unit includes engineers, parks and recreation workers, electricians, tax clerks, administrative assistants, code compliance officers and office managers, in addition to individual positions ranging from housing coordinator to database manager.”

The statewide union the group voted to join, represents over 10,000 Maine workers. MSEA-SEIU members work at Lewiston City Hall, the Lewiston School Department, Lewiston District Court, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services in Lewiston, the Lewiston CareerCenter, Central Maine Community College in Auburn and Androscoggin County Superior Court in Auburn. They also work as personal care attendants in private homes throughout Lewiston-Auburn, the release stated.