Maine AFL-CIO Pushes Worker Contract for Next Legislature

The Maine AFL-CIO's "Contract for Maine's Working-Class," a policy platform the labor federation says was built by and for workers to present to the next state Legislature, was featured in a report by the national news outlet Semafor, the Maine AFL-CIO said on October 13.

The Maine platform is one version of a broader "Contract with Working Americans" framework that state AFL-CIO bodies and affiliates have assembled from canvassing surveys, according to Semafor. There is no single national document, and the priorities differ from state to state to reflect local trades and industries.

The framework borrows from negotiated union contracts: candidates who want labor's backing are asked to commit to a set of policy positions. Every version includes support for expanding the government's power to negotiate prescription drug prices directly with manufacturers, broadening health coverage, capping child care costs, lowering gas prices and raising the minimum wage.

Matt Schlobohm, executive director of the Maine AFL-CIO, said unions should set the agenda themselves rather than leave it to others. "Both political parties are wildly unpopular. Unions are more popular than ever," he said.

The effort is framed around a gap between falling union membership over recent decades and polling that shows public support for unions at a record high, with nearly half of Americans saying unions should have more influence.

This story was first reported by Maine AFL-CIO.