BREWER, Maine — Dozens gathered Monday night in Brewer to celebrate the history of the United States labor movement and the ripples that continue to affect the lives of Mainers.
The Eastern Maine Labor Council and Food AND Medicine hosted the Labor Day event at Food AND Medicine headquarters on Ivers Street in Brewer. It was one of several celebrations across the state during the long holiday weekend.
Representatives of unions that have been embroiled in disputes and strikes during the past year shared stories of their battle and discussed what they called a continued importance of labor unions today.
The word of the day was “solidarity.”
“When we unite, we win,” said Eastern Maine Labor Council President Jack McKay. “I think [unions] are more important today than ever to addressing and solving the problems around working hours and wages.”
Earlier this year, two unions of Fairpoint employees signed new three-year contracts, ending a 131-day strike that nearly all of the 1,700 Maine unionized employees participated in. The spat resulted from differences over issues such as outsourcing work and health care and pension benefits.
Peter McLaughlin, a lead negotiator for and business manager of IBEW Local 2327 in Maine, said the lengthy strike was a win for employees, who kept most of their benefits and avoided a change in the wage system, but also tested the resolve of the employees. The successful results they saw, he said, were a result of employees willing to stick it out together, in spite of the financial strain and stress it caused for them.
“That’s what got us through the strike,” he said.
Still, problems persist at Fairpoint, which laid off about 270 employees across 17 states in May, with Maine suffering the largest share of those cuts.
Steven Akerley, a registered nurse at Eastern Maine Medical Center who serves as chief steward for the nurses’ union, relayed his story of how the union and hospital reached a deal that narrowly avoided a strike in July.
Under the deal, the hospital agreed to hire 30 new nurses to address understaffing concerns, and also a 2 percent annual pay raise over three years. The union maintained its biggest issue was with nurse and patient safety that they said was being put at risk by overworked nurses and high patient to nurse ratios.
In spite of winning some of their demands, Akerley said the staffing problems continue because there’s a shortage of nurses to draw from in the area. He said labor representatives are going to be working more closely with area colleges and universities to recruit nursing graduates.
“We just don’t have the bodies right now,” Akerley said.
The celebration also included a dinner and performance by The Loose Cannon Jug Band.
It attracted Democrat politicians ranging from Emily Cain and Joe Baldacci, who will be vying to take U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin’s seat in Congress, to emcee Troy Jackson.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter at @nmccrea213.