A bill supported by Gov. Janet Mills to make farmworkers subject to the state minimum wage would be a significant step toward rectifying a historical wrong, labor advocates say, but still would leave them as second-class workers in other regards. LD 2273, a bill introduced by House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland) on behalf of…
Over the month of April, Migrant Justice, a farmworker advocacy group, embarked on their Northeast Milk With Dignity Organizing tour, traveling to over 50 cities across seven states with six stops in Maine. The Milk With Dignity (MWD) campaign has targeted Hannaford Supermarket, which is Maine’s largest private employer with over 7,500 workers, to sign…
After a legislative campaign to grant migrant farmworkers in Maine full employment rights was blocked nearly two years ago, there is some hope that the effort will get a second chance this year. Two of the leaders of the Maine Legislature’s Labor and Housing Committee told Beacon they are bringing the issue back before the…
If Democrats are able to hold their majorities in the Maine State Legislature after the Nov. 8 election, there may be a greater opportunity to advance more progressive policies. A bloc of conservative Maine Senate Democrats — who have been a hurdle to efforts to expand workers’ rights, pass criminal justice reforms, fund affordable housing…
As the November 2022 election approaches, some progressive lawmakers are choosing to leave the legislature despite being eligible for another term. While proud of the work they accomplished at the State House, a number of those not seeking reelection say there are institutional barriers to creating significant change in Augusta that have often frustrated them…
Around 100 people rallied in front of the State House on Wednesday to celebrate the progress that has been made this legislative session on recognizing the inherent sovereignty of the Wabanaki and to call on Gov. Janet Mills to sign multiple bills that would ensure the tribes are treated like other Indigenous nations around the…
Just weeks after Gov. Janet Mills issued a highly controversial veto against a bill that would have allowed farmworkers in Maine to unionize, dairy workers rallied outside Hannaford headquarters in Scarborough to demand more rights. Workers from the advocacy group Migrant Justice on Saturday were calling on the supermarket conglomerate to join their “Milk With…
Advocates blasted Gov. Janet Mills’ veto of a bill that would have allowed farmworkers in Maine the opportunity to unionize, calling the decision to nix a measure to provide agricultural employees with the same rights other workers have long enjoyed “fundamentally immoral” and “an absolute disgrace.” As Beacon previously reported, the bill — LD 151…
The Maine People’s Alliance (of which Beacon is a project) released this week its annual legislative scorecard, rating state policymakers for their votes on legislation ranging from tax fairness measures, to expanding access to health care and housing, to racial equity among others. “With a Democratic governor and Democratic majorities in both chambers, our state…
A bill passed by the legislature earlier this year that would allow farmworkers in Maine to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining is being held by Gov. Janet Mills, delaying action on a measure proponents argue would take a step toward providing agricultural employees with the same rights as other workers. LD 151, sponsored…