New State Funding Allows UMaine’s Bureau of Labor Education to Strengthen Its Mission

State legislation that created the Scontras Center also provided $100,000 in funding for the University of Maine’s Bureau of Labor Education to strengthen its mission to provide workers and unions with knowledge and resources for understanding and dealing with work-related challenges and opportunities.

BLE Director Marc Cryer said that the Bureau is creating a new full-time position with the goal of listing the job in February, 2023 and hiring a new staff person by the end of next summer. The Bureau is still developing the job description for the new position, but candidates will be selected in consultation with the BLE advisory board and the Maine AFL-CIO

“Several professional positions have been eliminated from the Bureau in the last two decades and we are attempting to create a new position that includes some, but not all, of the duties of these older positions,” said Cryer. “As is often the case, the ideal is a mythical beast or jack of all trades that may not exist outside our imagination.”

Cryer said the Bureau may model the job description after a previous labor studies research associate position.