Committee Advances Union Backed Veterans' Resources Bill

The Labor and Housing Committee voted unanimously on Wednesday to support LD 1762, which would require employers with fifty employees or more to display a poster developed by the Maine Department of Labor containing information on veterans' benefits and services. Union members from USW, IAM Local S6, Laborers 327 and IBEW 104 testified in support of the bill. Many noted that there  is not an easy one-stop shop for veterans to access accurate information about resources and benefits they have earned.
 

BIW shipbuilder Brandt McCollett — an Army Veteran and the Chair of IAM Local S6’s Veterans Committee — said the legislation will save the lives of veterans who suffer because they are unaware of the resources they earned in service.

"It goes without saying that homelessness, substance abuse, and mental health issues plague too many of our service members who return to civilian life," said McCollett. "Upon leaving military life, some veterans are unaware they may have underlying issues that are impossible to overcome independently. It could take years for these issues to come to the surface and by then their place of employment may be their only connection to a community."

The Mills administration and committee members from both parties expressed support for the measure. The legislation was initiative by United Steelworkers District 4. USW passed similar legislation in NY and has since led the effort to move the bill in all fifty states.