Governor Janet Mills issued the following statement today in honor of Labor Day:
“Maine’s economy has changed throughout our history, but what has not changed is the character of Maine workers — hard working, strong-willed people who stood up and stood together when they knew things on the job just weren’t right. For generations, Maine’s working men and women have stood with leaders, lawmakers, and labor advocates to expand the rights of working people, improving the lives and livelihoods of all who call Maine home. As Governor, I have been proud to sign legislation to greatly enhance protections for Maine workers. On Labor Day, let us recommit to the philosophy, espoused by the late U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone and at the heart of my administration, that ‘we all do better when we all do better.’
During the first session of the 131st Maine Legislature, Governor Mills signed several new worker protections into law, including legislation expanding wage protections, strengthening retaliation protections for workers, and protecting employees from being required to attend so-called “captive audience” meetings often used as a tactic to prevent employees from unionizing. The Governor also signed legislation amending the Maine Equal Pay law to prohibit pay discrimination based on race and a bill expanding severance pay requirements to cover more Maine workers.
In June, Governor Mills also signed LD 1539, which will strengthen apprenticeship programs by incentivizing recruiting from historically underrepresented populations. This legislation builds upon the Mills Administration’s efforts to expand the number of apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship opportunities in Maine, including through a $12.3 million Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan investment in Maine labor unions, educational institutions, and private companies that will more than double the number of apprenticeships in Maine.
These recent accomplishments build on the Governor’s collaboration with the Legislature in previous sessions, which resulted in legislation requiring a prevailing wage be paid on school and municipal projects with public funding of $50,000 or more; legislation to protect state workers from threats to privatize their jobs; legislation requiring the use of apprenticeship programs on large scale new energy projects; legislation establishing collective bargaining rights for loggers and forest product haulers; and legislation to permit state and local governments to use project labor agreements, or PLAs, on publicly funded projects; and legislation to promote pay equality by discouraging employers from basing wages on an employee’s salary history.