Maine AFL-CIO Releases Annual Working Families Legislative Scorecard
The Maine AFL-CIO has released its 2023 Working Families Legislative Scorecard, which was mailed this week to more than 45,000 union members and retirees in our statewide federation. The scorecard provides important information about how our State Senators and State Representatives voted on key labor issues such as wages, workers’ rights, retirement security, child care, paid family medical leave, strengthening union apprenticeships and creating union jobs.
View the scorecard online here
“The combination of increased collective action, record levels of public support for unions and a lot of hard work has shifted the Legislature in a more pro-labor direction,” said Matt Schlobohm, Executive Director of the Maine AFL-CIO. “This helped us win important victories this legislative session."
The labor federation has also launched aninteractive online scorecardwhere you can type in your home address and immediately see your legislators scores. The full scorecard — which includes bill summaries, an annual report on Governor Janet Mills’ labor record, updates on Maine workers unionizing and a sneak peak of labor bills to expect in the 2024 legislative session — is also available online. According to the scorecard 68 legislators received 100 percent scores for their pro-labor votes, while 65 lawmakers received 0 percent for failing to side with working people on any scored labor votes.
Important pro-labor victories during the First Regular Session of the 131st Maine Legislature included:
- Passing LD 1756, which will strengthening our freedom to organize by banning mandatory “captive audience” meetings where corporations force workers to listen to anti-union talking points to coerce them into voting against forming unions.
- Passing LD 1895, which will responsibly developing offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine — and the related port infrastructure — by protecting fisheries and mandating strong labor standards and union-negotiated wages to ensure thousands of good paying union jobs for Maine workers.
- Passing a state budget (LD 258) that funds initiatives to improve state employee wages, close the state public sector pay gap and improve retirement security for state retirees; makes childcare more affordable and accessible; and establishes a new paid family medical leave program.
- Passing legislation to raise standards on registered apprenticeship programs (LD 1539 & 1394), strengthen prevailing wages (LD 1419) and more.
- Defeating two anti-union right- to-work-for-less bills designed to drive down wages and undermine worker power.
“At the same time, we are deeply disappointed that Governor Mills vetoed bills to require minimum wage protections for farmworkers (LD 398) and to grant Maine tribes the same standing as other federally recognized tribes (LD 2004). We will continue to push forward on these issues.”
A measure (LD 1794) to limit forced overtime in the paper industry and a bill backed by union nurses to strengthen patient safety by mandating minimum nurse-to-patient staffing ratios (LD 1639) were carried over until early 2024, along with a bill to provide farmworkers a right to unionize (LD 525).
You can see how your legislators voted here!
Please take a minute to see how your Representative and Senator voted. Then share the scorecard online with friends, in your workplace with your fellow union members and bring it up at your next local union meeting. We need to get this information out far and wide so we can hold our elected officials accountable for their actions.
Share the scorecard from our Facebook, X (Twitter) & Instagram
Don’t forget to thank your legislators if they’ve stood up for workers or express your disappointment if they haven’t!