July 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 MoreJune 16, 2016
Who Doesn’t Love a Cheesy Metaphor?
You may have noticed that we at the Southern Maine Workers’ Center enjoys a metaphor almost as much as we enjoy a good pun. This year at our Annual Meeting we honored some of our incredible partner organizations with “Community Pollinator Awards” for their work bringing people and communities together to create change. We also…
Read MoreMay 17, 2016
We’re hiring a part time organizer for our Health Care is a Human Right campaign
We’re hiring! SMWC is looking for a part time organizer for our Health Care is a Human Right campaign. At SMWC we believe that a health care system treated as a public good and based on the human rights principles is a fundamental step toward economic and racial justice in our communities. We’re organizing a…
Read MoreMay 17, 2016
We’re hiring! SMWC is looking for a part time organizer for our Health Care is a Human Right campaign
We’re hiring! SMWC is looking for a part time organizer for our Health Care is a Human Right campaign. Â At SMWC we believe that a health care system treated as a public good and based on the human rights principles is a fundamental step toward economic and racial justice in our communities. We’re organizing a…
Read MoreApril 21, 2016
SMWC Joins Call for Portland to #SaveIndiaStreet
SMWC Joins Call for Portland to #SaveIndiaStreet Health Care is a Human Right. This is an undisputable truth. Yet, we live in a nation and a state that daily denies people access to necessary and quality health care services, based primarily on income. The Southern Maine Workers’ Center (SMWC) organizes for a truly universal, publicly-funded…
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…
Read MoreDecember 14, 2015
#RefugeesWelcome (our statement of solidarity)
(On November 25th, 2015, the Southern Maine Workers’ Center wrote the following statement as a show of support for Syrian and other refugees. Many things have happened between that time and now, however the urgency remains. Thank you to our members for reading this message of solidarity and to Ali Mann for making the video.)…
Read MoreDecember 10, 2015
From Portland to Paris: It Takes Roots to Weather the Storm
From Portland to Paris: It Takes Roots to Weather the Storm A report from SMWC’s Meaghan LaSala from the COP 21 in Paris, France At the Southern Maine Workers’ Center, we use a framework of human rights to help us envision the world we are building toward. We are organizing a broad based movement for…
Read MoreSeptember 28, 2015
A SMWC Love Letter to Lew
DEAR PEOPLE OF LEWISTON, What a week y’all just had! The Good Food Bus got rolling, bringing much needed fresh, local, and affordable foods to people of Lewiston, Auburn, and Bath. The Tree Street Youth Center began its first week of enrichment classes. The 21st Century Lewiston High School leadership program is now 50 students…
Read MoreJuly 31, 2015
Why we need a universal wage: Heather shares her story about tipped work
On July 20th, members of SMWC’s Work With Dignity Committee attended the Portland City Council’s workshop session on tipped credit and the new minimum wage ordinance. The ordinance needs to meaningfully include tipped workers by raising their base wage (the amount the employer actually pays hourly), as well as the minimum wage they have to earn up to once…
Read MoreJuly 14, 2015
Universality: Tipped Workers and the New Minimum Wage
Portland’s Municipal Minimum Wage is Strengthened by the Inclusion of Tipped Workers As many people have heard, Portland City Council is backing away from the minimum wage ordinance they passed on Monday, because it calls for a raise in the base wages of tipped workers. Our Work With Dignity Committee, which has advocated for increased…
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