On Tuesday morning, Richard Valcourt figured out he had 277,000 seconds left as a state worker.

He said he loved his job with the Department of Health and Human Services' Lewiston office, and after 23 years he hated to walk away.

"You don't do what I do for very long without it becoming a part of your life," he said.

But Valcourt also loathed the thought of paying a service fee to the Maine State Employees Association, a union he didn't belong to and really didn't like. If he stayed, his wages would be garnished to pay that fee.

"That was the straw that broke my back," he said.

This summer he made a career-ending decision. He will retire earlier than planned. Friday will be his last day.

"I felt like a patriot in the 1700s," he said. "I was looking for a harbor where I could dunk some tea."

In 2005, the state made a deal with the Maine State Employees Association to force non-union state workers to pay a union service fee. Legal challenges and legislative proposals kept the fee at bay for two years, but those have all but disappeared. Last session, the Legislature passed a bill allowing the state to pull money from workers' paychecks to pay for the fee, regardless of whether those workers agree. The state will start taking the money Sept. 20.

Some employees don't plan to stick around that long. Like Valcourt, they're walking away.

"I view the attachment of my wages as punishment," said Harvey Boatman, who left his job as a Maine Department of Education transportation and construction specialist last Friday.

Boatman, Valcourt and others say they aren't quitting because of the money. The union fee is less than $5 a week, and they can afford to pay it. But they don't like being forced to give money to the MSEA, a union whose politics they question, a union they haven't joined and don't want representing them.

"In my world, when you want service from someone, you hire them. It's a choice," Boatman said.

The union, however, says the service fee is only fair. The MSEA doesn't represent non-union workers directly, but officials say union negotiations lead to higher pay and better benefits for all workers.

"We've been urging most of the people who disagree with us, urging them to join and have their voices heard so they have a say," said Tim Belcher, executive director of the MSEA.

New hires have been required since 2003 to pay a weekly fee or join the union and pay full dues, which are about $9 a week. Other employees were added in 2005 during closed-door contract negotiations between the state and union.

About 200 workers joined the union right away, and another 200 immediately signed up to pay the fee voluntarily. The rest were issued an ultimatum: pay or get fired.

"Mostly people have been paying," Belcher said. "A few hundred have been very adamant against this."

Last session, the Legislature prohibited the state from firing workers because of the fee, but the same bill allowed money to be taken from workers' paychecks without their permission.

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court ruled against 20 employees who had challenged the fee by claiming it violated their constitutional and civil rights. The state set a date to garnish wages.

Belcher hadn't known anyone was quitting until the Sun Journal called Tuesday.

"That's their choice," he said. "But that's really not the way to deal with this. They should get involved."

Mark Turek and Michael Smith have gotten involved - as part of Unfairshare.org. Formed to protest the union fee, the group tried to get the union decertified and fought last session's legislation.

Both men plan to keep fighting. Both are also looking for new jobs.

"I just think it's wrong that people should be forced to pay for something they don't believe in," Smith said.

Smith estimates another 30 to 40 state workers are also planning to leave.

Others want to protest the fee, but quitting isn't an option for them.

"I've spoken with so many people that are so very, very frustrated," Turek said. "I've had people call me in tears."

Shirley LaRuss, a corporate auditor for Maine Revenue Services, lives paycheck-to-paycheck. Battling cancer, she uses any spare money for medical bills and co-pays.

She started paying the union fee, then stopped. The state now says she owes the union about $200 in back payments, plus the fee from now on.

She said she's been notified that $170 - 10 percent of her pay - will be taken from her check on Sept. 20 to help her catch up on money owed.

At 63, she knows she'd have trouble finding another job. And she loves the one she has now.

She just hates paying to keep it.

"I'm resigned (to the fee)," she said. "But it's going to be hard."