BRUNSWICK — Gov. Paul LePage on Monday made his latest pitch to shrink the power of labor unions in Maine when he offered details about the “Open for Business zones” proposal he introduced last month in his State of the State address.

LePage laid out his vision for the Open for Business zones during a presentation at Brunswick Landing, the former Navy air base that became available for civilian redevelopment in 2011. He framed a key component of his plan — that employees of companies in the zones will not be required to join labor unions — as an effort to ensure “payroll protection.”

The Republican governor often has advocated that Maine become a “right-to-work” state, which would change the state’s law requiring that employees who choose not to join unions pay the equivalent of union dues for being represented in collective bargaining. He has said that company officials looking to locate or expand in Maine have told him that Maine suffers competitively against southeastern states that have enacted right-to-work legislation.

The state also would offer training and recruitment assistance to companies in Open for Business zones. Firms benefiting from Open for Business zone incentives would be encouraged to hire Maine workers and buy materials or subcontracted services from Maine providers.

The language for legislation to create the Open for Business zones, which will be sponsored by Sen. Andre Cushing, R-Hampden, has been completed, but the bill has yet to be submitted to the Democrat-controlled Legislature for consideration, according to Doug Ray of the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development.

Democrats have staunchly opposed all efforts by LePage and Republican lawmakers to pass any form of right-to-work legislation in Maine.

Brunswick Landing and the former Loring Air Force base in Limestone would be the first two areas that LePage hopes would benefit from Open for Business designation, which is designed to offer incentives for large companies to come to Maine.

Ray said the zones follow the model of existing Pine Tree Development zones introduced by LePage’s predecessor, Democratic Gov. John Baldacci, which initially offered tax breaks and incentives for businesses that located in economically troubled areas, but spread to the entire state as the business climate worsened in the late 2000s.

But Open for Business zones would expand on the benefits of those zones to offer more workforce training and additional corporate tax credits. The bill also would allow businesses access to a pool of up to $500 million in bond funding from the Finance Authority of Maine.

The zones would offer the benefits to businesses that invest at least $50 million and create 1,500 jobs. Those businesses also would be eligible for discounted electricity rates, employment tax benefits and increased access to capital.

A 20-year corporate income tax incentive would include a 100 percent income tax credit for the first 10 years and a 50 percent credit for years 11 to 20.

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