While we certainly made progress in the last legislative session, we still have a lot of work to do on labor legislation in Augusta when the new session starts in January.
A measure (LD 1639) to create legally enforceable nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals was carried over until this coming session. Registered nurses with MSNA turned out in force to support the LD 1639 last spring. They told legislators that limiting the number of patients that nurses can be responsible for will improve patient care. Numerous studies show that placing limits on the number of patients a nurse has in their assignment improves patient health outcomes and protects the health and safety of nurses.
Last session United Steelworkers leaders from the state’s paper mills backed a bill (LD 1794) to limit forced overtime in the paper industry. The Legislature’s Labor and Housing Committee voted to carry over the bill to this coming year’s legislative session to provide time for union workers and paper companies to find solutions to address this abusive practice. United Steelworkers gave impassioned testimonies about how forced overtime is taking a major toll on workers and their families.
The Building Trades are now in the process of negotiating labor agreements on a new affordable housing project in downtown Portland thanks to a state law passed last year that mandates it have a project labor agreement. The project, which will employed several building trades union members, will prove that skilled union workers are perfectly suited to help address the housing crisis in Maine
We were deeply disappointed that Governor Mills vetoed bills to require minimum wage protections for farmworkers (LD 398) last summer. We are currently part of a stakeholder group established by the Governor to recommend a minimum wage for farmworkers. The recommendations will be introduced in the form of legislation this coming session. The Legislature also carried over a bill to grant farmworkers a right to unionize (LD 525).
As far as new legislation, we plan to announce more pro-labor bills in the New Year. One of the bills includes a measure to improve cost of living adjustments for workers’ compensation benefits to help injured workers.