July 12, 2021
Portland’s restaurant industry should be a place where people can work with dignity
Published in the Portland Press Herald on May 19th, 2021(link to original here) Restaurant series doesn’t represent Portland food workers’ perspective Unsafe conditions and the lack of a living wage and health insurance are driving people away – not reluctance to work. BY KATIE KEATING AND HEATHER FORAN (SMWC Board Co-Chair) In the recent series…
Read MoreJune 10, 2019
Rep. Larry Lockman’s Scapegoating and Fearmongering are Intended to Keep Maine too Paralyzed to Envision a Better Future
By Peggy Marchand, Health Care is a Human Right Committee Member The Southern Maine Workers’ Center endorsed LD 1317, “An Act To Restore Services To Help Certain Noncitizens Meet Their Basic Needs”, as part of our Health Care is Human Right campaign. We believe all people should get the health care they need, and are…
Read MoreMay 20, 2019
Dental Care Is Healthcare And Healthcare Is A Human Right
The Maine legislature is considering a bill that would provide access to basic dental care for adults and children on MaineCare. “An Act To Improve Dental Health for Maine Children and Adults with Low Incomes” (LD-1453) would be an important step forward for Maine. As someone who’s been impacted by not having access to dental…
Read MoreApril 23, 2019
Earned paid sick days: Portland should not wait for the state, unedited
I’ve been involved in the campaign to pass a universal earned paid sick time ordinance in the city of Portland since late June 2017. Over nearly twenty two months, I’ve been impressed by the growth in our coalition and the snowballing of public involvement in the campaign. After the most recent city council hearing, where…
Read MoreNovember 8, 2018
The 1115 Medicaid Waiver is Just Another War on the Poor
On Sunday, October 28th, the Southern Maine Workers’ Center held the Rally to Protect and Expand Access to Health Care. The rally connected the dots between the well-known issue of MaineCare expansion, which, while passed by voters has still not been implemented; lesser know attacks on our health care system, including the proposed Section 1115…
Read MoreNovember 6, 2018
Together we will create a future where everyone has the health care they need and deserve.
On Sunday, October 28th, the Southern Maine Workers’ Center held the Rally to Protect and Expand Access to Health Care. The rally connected the dots between the well-known issue of MaineCare expansion, which, while passed by voters has still not been implemented; lesser know attacks on our health care system, including the proposed Section 1115…
Read MoreAugust 9, 2018
Judge Brett Kavanaugh is a danger to workers.
On July 28, 2018, I spoke at a rally in opposition to the nomination of Supreme Court Nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh. While I was generally aware of the concerns about Kavanaugh’s nomination, I wasn’t as familiar with his opinions on workers’ right. Looking into it was chilling. I’m sharing my comments from the rally so people can learn more…
Read MoreMarch 2, 2018
“There is no Good Society without a Good Union”: a Faith Perspective on the Janus Case
“There is no Good Society without a Good Union”: a Faith Perspective on the Janus Case By Father Mike Seavey On Monday February 26, 2018; the US Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Janus vs. AFSCME. The case focused on a public employee labor union’s right to collect “agency fees” from employees who…
Read MoreJuly 10, 2017
I’m moving on, but I’ll do so carrying the light you’ve given me
Dear SMWC members, leaders, and friends, I’m writing to let you know that I will be leaving the HCHR organizer position in mid August. My partner, who is a writer, was accepted to an MFA program and she, our many cats, and I are shipping off to the San Francisco Bay Area to follow the…
Read MoreJuly 29, 2016
“Everywhere we go/people want to know/ who we are/ so we tell them…”
“Everywhere we go/people want to know/ who we are/ so we tell them…” Ronald Flannery, HCHR Organizer, Southern Maine Workers’ Center July 23, 2016 “Everywhere we go/people want to know/ who we are/ so we tell them…” Ronald Flannery, HCHR Organizer, Southern Maine Workers’ Center July 23, 2016 While travelling from the RNC to the DNC…
Read MoreFebruary 4, 2016
Answering This Moment: Poor White Folks & Organizing in Maine
The below is a reflection from a Health Care is a Human Right member who was prompted by a fellow organizer with Put People First! Pennsylvania to write this piece. We hope it will spark conversation & critical thinking across our membership, and among white people in Maine more broadly. My father grew up in…
Read MoreJanuary 5, 2016
Guest Blog: Catholic Teachings and Workplace Justice
What Catholics Believe: The Seventh Commandment, Part 2 Do Not Steal; Treat Workers Justly By Father Michael J Seavey Reprinted from The Harvest: The Magazine of the Catholic Diocese of Portland January/February 2016, p.10 If we were to see a story on workplace theft, we might imagine an armed robbery with masked intruders emptying the…
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