EMLC & FAM's 15th Annual Legislative Breakfast — Sat. March 23

You are invited to the 15th Annual Legislative Breakfast, co-hosted by Food AND Medicine and the Eastern Maine Labor Council, on Saturday March 23, from 9 to 11 am. 
 

This is a great opportunity for working class people to speak directly to our local legislators about issues in the current Legislature. We have invited all state senators and representatives for the greater Bangor region; as of the date of this email, nine legislators have confirmed they are planning to join us, including Maine Senate President Troy Jackson.

Registration is required to attend, because in-person seats are limited and fill up quick! If attending in person, there is a $5/person suggested donation at the door to help EMLC cover the costs of food. There will also be coffee and tea starting at 8:30 am for chit chat, and a delicious locally sourced (as much as possible) breakfast will be served family style at 9am, when the program starts. Those who register to attend on Zoom will receive an email with the Zoom link prior to the event.

Here are the bills on this year's agenda:

1. LD 1794, An Act to Enhance the Predictability of Mandated Overtime for Pulp or Paper Manufacturing Facility Employees, presented by Senate President Troy Jackson. The bill will be presented at the Breakfast by a member of United Steel Workers.

    

2. LD 1639, An Act to Address Unsafe Staffing of Nurses and Improve Patient Care, presented by Senator Brenner of Cumberland. The bill will be presented at the Breakfast by a member of Maine State Nurses Association.

    

3. LD 2121, An Act to Address Chronic Understaffing of State Government Positions, presented by Representative Gattine, of Westbrook. The bill will be presented at the Breakfast by a member of Maine Service Employees Association.

    

4. LD 2113, An Act to Provide Relief to Federal Employees Affected by a Federal Shutdown, which proposes to provide no interest loans for federal workers up to $6,000 in a government shutdown, presented by Senate President Troy Jackson. The bill will be presented at the Breakfast by a member of American Federal and Government Employees.

    

5. LD 2007, An Act to Advance Self Determination for Wabanaki Nations, presented by House Speaker Rachel Talbott Ross. The bill will be presented at the Breakfast by Maulian Dana Bryant, Penobscot Nation Tribal Ambassador (and FAM Board Member)

The bills on the agenda are subject to change. There will be a question and answer portion of the agenda in which member of the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions of the legislators. The organizers ask that the topic of audience questions be limited to issues affecting workers or the low-income community.

Please use the button above to register to attend in person or on Zoom. The Zoom link will be emailed to Zoom attendees prior to the event. Attendees are required to identify themselves on the Zoom, and any recording of the event or any portion thereof, is prohibited without the express permission of the Eastern Maine Labor Council executive board.