Remembering Pat McTeague, former Maine AFL-CIO Legal Counsel & Labor Champion

The labor movement in Maine is mourning the loss of labor attorney Pat McTeague who passed away on May 19th at the age of 84 after a brief illness. A former legal counsel for the Maine AFL-CIO, Pat spent his career fighting for the underdog and his legacy will remain with us for many years to come in the working people he assisted, in the union members he mentored and the worker protections he helped create.

“Pat McTeague was truly an icon of the Maine Labor movement. No one person has done more for the working men and women of Maine,” said Carol Sanborn, a 38-year McTeague Higbee paralegal and President of IAM Local Lodge S-89. “Whether or not they have ever heard his name, thousands of families have him to thank for improvements in their circumstances. The Maine AFL-CIO and many individual Labor Unions and their members benefitted from countless hours of free legal advice and work done solely out of principle."

Born in Lakewood, Ohio, Pat came to Maine to serve as a JAG at the Brunswick Naval Air Station after receiving his Juris Doctorate at Ohio State while participating in the Navy ROTC program. Following his discharge from the Navy he established a law practice and later joined attorney G. William Higbee to form McTeague and Higbee, which continues to specialize in labor and employment law to this day.

For many years, Pat partnered with the Maine AFL-CIO to fight for laws to benefit working Mainers. He played a prominent role in improving the workers’ compensation program in Maine and was one of the authors of the Maine Age Discrimination in Employment Act. As his obituary notes, Pat felt it was a privilege to represent unions and working people and at one time or another, he represented many of the unions in the state. In addition to his tireless work as a labor attorney, Pat served as a State Representative and was appointed to the ERISA Board of the Welfare and Pension Benefit Plan of the U.S. Department of Labor in 1999.

“Pat was an amazing person and lawyer. He really did make you feel special when you met with him regardless of whether that was a private meeting or within a group of people,” said Rod Hiltz, a longtime labor activist and former USW 9 President and MSEA labor rep. “He just connected with everyone and he will be greatly missed. Many thanks to him for the generations of workers he helped, many of whom never even met him. He was a true champion for labor.”

“So saddened to read that Pat has left us. This wonderful man played a prominent role in developing the story of Workers' Compensation in Maine, said retired millworker and former USW representative Duane Lugdon. “Many of us claimed that he wrote the laws that we all benefitted from. Pat was a GREAT character builder and brought out the best in a lot of people.”

“[Pat’s] work continued long past retirement, and there never has been a greedy corporation too big for him to take on,” Sanborn continued. “He fought injustice like a superhero and the villains dreaded his name. There can be no greater legacy. The workers of Maine have lost a warrior. The rest of us, having been led by his example, will do the best we can to carry on. As he used to tell us, ‘We are on the side of the angels.’”

Contributions in Pat’s memory can be made to the Good Shepherd Food Bank, 3121 Hotel Rd., Auburn, ME 04210