June 10, 2022
SMWC Worker Support Hotline Pause June 10-September 5, 2022
The Southern Maine Workers’ Center is pausing our Worker Support Hotline from June 10-September 5 to focus on updating our WORK Manual, launching this year’s series of workers’ rights trainings, and reflecting on our hotline data to help us be more intentional about how our hotline can best support Maine workers. In the meantime, please check out…
Read MoreDecember 21st, 2021
Celebrating Arlo
Arlo has transitioned away from his role at SMWC, which gives us all a special occasion to come together to lift up all the direct support, power, victories, and relationships they have built and dedicated themselves to these last 5 years. Please join us next Tuesday between 12:00PM and 1:00 PM to record some thoughts and appreciations for them.
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 9, 2017
We Won’t Let our Rights be Traded Away Behind Closed Doors
We Won’t Let our Rights be Traded Away Behind Closed Doors Late at night on Friday, June 30th, a compromise budget failed to pass in the state house, triggering a shutdown of Maine state government, which ended late on July 3rd. While we are grateful that this manufactured crisis has ended, we know that the…
Read MoreMay 5, 2017
Test for Tip in Cash Page
Join the movement. Sign the pledge to tip in cash today! Wage Theft is the illegal underpayment or non-payment of workers’ wages. Workers lose billions of dollars when their employers pay less than minimum wage; refuse overtime pay; force workers to work off the clock; hold back final paychecks; misclassify employees as independent contractors… or…
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 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…
Read MoreJuly 14, 2015
We Won!
We Did It! After a year long campaign, Portland will raise the minimum wage to $10.10 in January! Throughout this past year, the Southern Maine Workers’ Center has been at the center of an organizing effort for a universal, enforceable, living wage in Portland. SMWC members worked in partnership with low-wage workers, faith leaders and…
Read MoreAugust 28, 2014
NAACP Portland and Southern Maine Workers’ Center Release Statement in Solidarity with North Carolina Forward Together Moral Movement.
NAACP Portland and the Southern Maine Workers’ Center have released a statement of solidarity with a nationwide week of action for human rights, part of the Forward Together Moral Movement lead by the North Carolina NAACP. While our organizing is focused on making change on the local and state level, we believe that it is…
Read MoreMay 23, 2014
Work With Dignity Committee members participate in national day of action with Target janitors
On May 20, 2014, three Work With Dignity Committee members participated in national actions in solidarity with members of CTUL who clean Target stores in Minneapolis/ St. Paul. These workers will be organizing all summer, and we’ll continue to support them from afar. Learn more about the campaign here: http://ctul.net/overview-of-march-for-justice-in-retail-cleaning/.Â
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