Western Maine Labor Council Endorses Carl Sheline for Lewiston Mayor
LEWISTON — The Western Maine Labor Council has voted to endorse Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline for re-election. Last month, Mayor Sheline and challenger Jon Connor were top-place finishers, but neither candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote in the four-way race, so the two candidates will go to a run-off election under Lewiston’s electoral rules. Mayor Sheline has a proven record of supporting working people and has expressed a keen interest in supporting pro-worker policies on WMLC’s candidate survey.
“As a central labor council representing union workers in the great City of Lewiston, we are proud to endorse Mayor Carl Sheline for re-election. He believes in putting working people first by supporting more affordable housing for working people, protecting our critical city services and incentivizing the creation of good quality jobs in the city. Mayor Sheline is the candidate working people can trust to lead the City of Lewiston,” said Linda Deane, President of the Western Maine Labor Council.
Mayor Sheline has fought to protect jobs and critical public services for the community. He understands that quality, affordable housing is key to building a robust workforce and a growingeconomy in Lewiston. He supports strong labor and wage standards to ensure municipally-funded construction projects are built safely and on schedule using skilled local trades workers paid living wages. Mayor Sheline also supports quality workforce development programs like registered apprenticeships.
Mayor Carl Sheline was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the Union Construction Academy in Lewiston, a pre-apprenticeship program run by Maine's Building and Construction Trades Unions that trains diverse cohorts of Mainers for well-paying careers in the union trades. He not only helped to promote the pre-apprenticeship program, he actively recruited applicants for the UCA as well as the Maine AFL-CIO’s Postal Jobs Boot Camp that introduces job seekers to union career opportunities in the US Postal Service and guides them through the application process.
“As a result of Mayor Sheline’s efforts to recruit workers to our workforce development programs, we trained several top candidates who are now working as apprentices with our Building and Construction Trades Unions. During our graduation, Mayor Sheline spoke about the importance of providing pathways into good union careers for a diverse range of workers. He understands the vital role that municipal policy makers can play in supporting workers and Labor, and a second term will allow Mayor Sheline to continue his support for our pre-apprenticeship and policies that help our graduates to get good-paying Union jobs,” said Matt Schlobohm, Executive Director of the Maine AFL-CIO.
In contrast, Sheline’s opponent Jon Connor has a track record of consistently voting against workers during his time as a Republican legislator serving from 2021 to 2022 in the Maine Legislature. Connor received an average score of just 11 percent during his one term in the Maine Legislature, according to the Maine AFL-CIO’s 2021 and 2022 Working Families Scorecards. In 2021, Connor voted for an anti-union “right to work” for less bill designed to weaken the collective power of working people, undermine our unions and drive down wages.
Connor opposed legislation to strengthen collective bargaining rights for public sector employees and voted against wage and safety standards for the construction of affordable housing and good quality jobs in the renewable energy sector. Connor opposed legislation to support local jobsby ensuring public tax dollars for construction are used to purchase American-made materials. In 2022, Connor voted against a bill to protect correction officers who develop heart disease or hypertension due to their employment and opposed legislation to allow for more development of more affordable housing for working people.
“The choice in this election couldn’t be more stark when it comes to issues impacting working people,” Deane added. “Mayor Carl Sheline is by far the best choice for working class Lewiston.”