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Maine AFL-CIO Endorses Janet Mills for Governor

Andy O’Brien
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Brothers & Sisters —

Delegates from the Maine AFL-CIO’s 180 affiliated unions at our biennial COPE Convention last Friday, June 24, voted to endorse Governor Janet Mills for reelection this November. During the past four years, we have made more progress on passing pro-worker legislation in Augusta than the previous 40 years. And we intend to continue that important work. 

This election will determine whether our state moves forward on policies that will meaningfully improve the lives of working class Mainers, or if we will once again be forced to defend ourselves from more attacks on workers' rights. 

As we've made progress in Augusta during the past four years, we have also had the opportunity to build public support for workers organizing at Maine Medical Center, the Portland Museum of Art, Preble Street, Bates College, Starbucks, Chipotle and numerous other workplaces. But we will not be able to devote as many resources to this work if we're spending all of our time fighting anti-labor politicians that seek to weaken and undermine us.

While we may not always see eye to eye with Governor Mills and have been disappointed with some of her decisions, we know that she will work with us collaboratively and in good faith to support working people and our unions so we can continue to build our power in the labor movement.

With strong support from pro-labor legislators, under Governor Mills leadership, we have worked together to pass more than 60 new pro-worker laws. Thanks to Governor Mills’ support:

  • Revenue Sharing funding is fully funded at 5 percent for the first time in over a dozen years, supporting our teachers, firefighters, police and other municipal employees, many of whom are also union members.
  • Beginning in 2023, every new energy construction project in Maine over 2 megawatts will be covered by a prevailing wage that will set a standard for wages in the grid-scale renewable energy industry. This will help make union contractors competitive with non-union contractors.
  • We won collective bargaining rights for loggers for the first time ever and a new dispute resolution panel for loggers with labor representation.
  • We passed two bills requiring Project Labor Agreements that establish wage and labor standards for all contractors and construction workers on certain construction projects. This will help get more work for union workers.
  • The Downeast Correctional Facility has reopened, restoring union jobs to Washington County and helping inmates transition to employment on the outside.
  • We won passage of a new labor education center based at the University of Southern Maine to provide research, education and support to Maine’s labor movement and Maine workers.
  • Public sector workers, many of whom are union members, recently received the most significant improvement to their pensions in decades. A new exemption on retirement pension income is funded with $36.8 million, which will increase in future years.  
  • 93,000 low-income Mainers are now eligible for MaineCare after LePage spent his term blocking MaineCare expansion.
  • The state is now fully funding the cost of public education at 55 percent for the first time ever, taking the burden off of property taxes and freeing up municipal funds for other purposes, like better wages and benefits for municipal workers.
  • We won the most significant improvement to Unemployment Insurance in decades  and created Unemployment Peer Workforce Navigators to help people into good union jobs, job training and apprenticeship programs.
  • Maine became the first state in the nation to offer earned paid leave for 85 percent of working men and women in the state.
  • We have been able to increase the maximum weekly workers' compensation benefit for injured workers, establish a cost of living adjustment every five years, provide benefits to the parents of unmarried workers who are killed on the job and extend the cap on benefits from 520 weeks to 624 weeks.

Click here to see more of the many gains workers have made in the past four years!

We know from previous experience that if Paul Lepage wins in November, he will work to undo all of our recent victories and continue to push policies to break our unions and destroy our ability to organize and fight for better wages, dignity and a seat at the table for working people. He will continue to push "right to work for less" bills to weaken unions. We must not go back. 

Watch this one-minute video about LePage's anti-worker record!

Rally

 

For a refresher, as Governor, Paul LePage:

  • Supported union-busting “right-to-work” for less legislation that would prohibit companies and workers in unionized shops to negotiate contracts that require all workers to pay the cost of collective bargaining.
  • Refused to raise the minimum wage by even 50 cents from $7.50 an hour.
  • Prohibited project labor agreements on public works construction projects.
  • Repealed collective bargaining rights for child care workers.
  • Weakened unemployment to delay UI benefits for any vacation time workers have.
  • Supported lowering Maine’s minimum wage from $7.50 to $5.25 an hour for anyone under age 20.

Click here to read more about LePage’s attacks on workers during his tenure.

The choice is stark this election and the stakes are high. We will not sit back and let anti-worker politicians erase our gains and make Maine become the 29th "right-to-work" state. Please join us in working to ensure Janet Mills is reelected and keep the momentum to build on our achievements of the past four years. 

In Solidarity,

Cynthia Phinney

President, Maine AFL-CIO

PS - We know some of you will disagree strongly with this endorsement. We respect that. That's what democracy is about. Affiliated unions democratically came together and made this endorsement decision based on the labor positions of the candidates. We looked at what we've been able to accomplish on union and worker issues and who we think will best support us in making additional progress for unions and workers going forward.  Again, we really encourage you to look at the full list of more than 60 pro-union, pro-workers bills that have become law over the past four years. Our endorsement is rooted in this record of accomplishment and our desire to continue to build power for workers.