The Maine Legislature voted on mostly party lines to reject two Republican-backed “right to work” for Less bills, LD 1636 and LD 1707, that aimed to drive down wages and undermine worker power. Both bills would have prohibited union security agreements with employers that require all workers in a bargaining unit to share in the cost of union representation.
LD 1636, sponsored by Senator Eric Brakey, would go even further to require the state Attorney General to prosecute workers for enforcing these contract clauses, with penalties of up to a year in jail with a maximum $2000 fine, plus “damages.” Rep. Scott Cyrway (R-Albion) and Rep. Lucas Lanigan (R-Sanford) were the only two Republicans to join Democrats in opposing the bill.