Talking to our membership is "In Our Control" in the 2008 Election

There's alot that is out of control about this election. But talking to our friend, family, and Union Members is in our control. Union members generally respond well to other union members talking to them about union issues- like good jobs, healthcare, trade, pensions.

Over the next seven weeks we have the opportunity to impact what may be the most significant election in our lifetime. You all know the story too well, after 8 years of right-wing, anti-worker control of our government, we've had enormous job losses, the gap between rich and poor breaks record after record, 48 million Americans are without healthcare- and the list goes on.

While on Wall Street, hedge fund managers who receive $500 million a year in compensation (that's not a typo!) thanks to the supporters of deregulation are now engineering the biggest bailout of the greed run amok in U.S. history, we have a historic opportunity to turn this country around. If we can win this election, we can make enormous advances on the right to organize a union, fair trade, healthcare, and other important issues.

Can you afford 4 more years of right wing control?

Please take some of your time to give back to our country and help turn America around for us and for our next generation.

Labor Walk, September 27th, from 8:30 to 12:00
Phone bank: Wednesday, 5:30 to 8:30 Sept. 24th- and each Wednesday until November 4
Labor Walk, October 18th, 8:30 to 12:00 (tentative)
Labor Walk, November 1st, 8:30 to 12:00

If you can make any of these, please contact Dan Lawson (322-7469), John Curtis (667-4877) or Jack McKay (989-4141)

Many of you have done the walks, phonebanked, handed out leaflets and done the things all the things to help educate and empower our members to stand up for what is right and for a better country for all Americans. Thanks.

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Unions, the Private Ballot
and the Big Lie Campaign

Recently an out of state, anti-union outfit has been flooding our media with ads saying that unions want to take away the private ballot for workers. Senators Susan Collins and John McCain have been aping the same language. This is the Big Lie Campaign.

Unions have private ballot elections all the time! We vote on contracts, for officers, for negotiating committees etc. Non union workers never vote on work place issues or for representatives! Non union workers don't ever vote on pensions, healthcare, hiring packages, layoff procedures, job bid procedures, vacation schedules, etc. Through our union, we get to vote. That is what a union gives us!

The Employee Free Choice Act would aid non-union workers to get the ability to vote on meaningful things, like pay, healthcare, pensions, etc. It would increase the number and times that workers use the private ballot. The businesses and their shamelessly named groups (Union Facts, Coalition for Workplace Democracy) are all about workers voting less - or, they hope, not at all.

On Wednesday, August 27 and again on Labor Day, the EMLC held press conferences to get this truth out to the media. We got great coverage on Maine Public Radio, in the Bangor Daily News, and on Channels 2 and 7.

The Eastern Maine Labor Council is also releasing a study detailing extensive private ballot voting by union members affiliated to the EMLC in just the past year. The EMLC surveyed 26 affiliated locals and found that 221 workers were elected to office by private ballot, including 13 presidents, 13 vice-presidents, 12 secretaries and 7 treasurers, 55 members of executive boards and an additional 121 other officers in various capacities. In addition private ballot votes on 22 contracts or workplace issues were taken. These numbers do not take into consideration the fact that many locals operate on a three year election cycle and that contracts generally run for three years. If such a vote was in an off year, it is not included in the tallies. View the report, "Truth and Falsehoods," here for more details.

Read more about the Employee Free Choice Act and those deceptive anti-union "private ballot" ads

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Solidarity Scholarships awarded to three Eastern Maine students

Pete Janarelli, Jessie Mellott, and Michael Scott Lowell just became the first recipients of the Eastern Maine Labor Council and Food AND Medicine's Solidarity Scholarship. The scholarships are awarded annually to eligible students who send a brief essay about a personal experience of solidarity, and how they plan to use their education to bring more solidarity into the world. All EMLC members and their families, FAM members and their families, and laid-off workers in Eastern Maine and their families are eligible.

Pete Janerelli is a FAM member and volunteer, Micheal Scott Lowell is the son of an MSEA-SEIU member, and Jessie Mellott is the daughter of a member of MSNA and plans to join that union herself. All three are students at the University of Maine, Orono.

Check back for info about next year's Solidarity Scholarship.

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Worker Center hotline running-1-866-933-WCEM

Nonunion workers finally have somewhere to turn for help with problems on the job, at the new Worker Center of Eastern Maine (WCEM) Hotline.

All calls are completely confidential and will be returned by one of the Worker Center's trained Community Stewards within a few days.