UAW Grad Workers & UWUA Local B341 Affiliate with Maine AFL-CIO

We are proud to welcome the University of Maine Graduate Workers, UAW Local 7650, and the Utility Workers of America Local B341 to the Maine AFL-CIO. The two unions unions recently voted to affiliate with our state federation.

The UMaine Graduate Workers first launched their unionization campaign in March, 2023 and won their union election in late September of that year. However, it took over two years to win their contract due to stalling by the university. They decided to call themselves Local 7650 because it took 765 days to win a first contract. Local 7650 is comprised of approximately 900 to 1,000 part-time graduate student workers across all campuses of the University of Maine.

UWUA Local B341 delivers natural gas to customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, from Kittery to Lewiston. Originally part of the Brotherhood of Utility Workers of New England, Local B341 was chartered in 1953 and represented workers with the Portland Gas Light Company and the Lewiston Gas Light Company, which were later incorporated into Northern Utilities before becoming part of Unitil in 1984.

Welcome to the Maine AFL-CIO brothers, sisters and union family!