Labor Committee is vital for Maine

The recent suggestion by Republicans to eliminate the Labor Committee is purely political and will hurt every one of Maine’s workers. The Republicans have not offered any good reasons for their proposal ”“ this move will not save taxpayers money, will not keep our workers safer or healthier and will not help the unemployed get back to work. In fact, there are many sound reasons for keeping the Labor Committee intact.

So what does the Labor Committee do and why is it important to keep it? The Labor Committee has oversight for the Maine Department of Labor, workers’ compensation and the Workers’ Compensation Board, working conditions including health and safety, workforce development, unemployment compensation, Maine’s wage and hour laws, labor relations and collective bargaining.

Not only does the Labor Committee help to ensure the safety, health, and fair treatment of all Maine workers, but since 1887 it has been a forum for citizens to go and have their voice be heard. Maine’s future depends on creating good jobs, increasing economic security and making sure that workplace rights and safety remain strong for all working Mainers.

The Republicans propose merging the Business, Research and Economic Development Committee with the Labor Committee to improve Maine’s business climate and to ensure that Maine businesses won’t be made to bear new additional costs. They argue that business interests are not represented on the Labor Committee.

As co-chair of the Labor Committee during the 124th Legislature I know that this simply isn’t true. But don’t just take my word for it. The Maine State Chamber of Commerce in their 2010 Summary praised our work and votes, in particular the openness and cooperation we displayed in building consensus with businesses in Maine.

Although I had submitted legislation to index and increase Maine’s minimum wage, the continuing economic recession meant that it was the wrong time to pass bills like these; and so I voted against both of them. There was widespread agreement among committee members that we would not vote for any legislation that would harm Maine businesses.

We also overwhelmingly voted to defeat legislation that would have created mandatory sick leave in the Labor Committee. As the Maine Chamber of Commerce said, “”¦ a number of the most contentious pieces of legislation ended up favorably for the business community.”

During the last legislative session in the Labor Committee we passed legislation that was made into law that included an act to ensure fair pay, prohibiting employers from discriminating on the basis of sex by paying different wages to employees doing comparable work. We expanded protections for forestry and farm workers, making sure that workers have safe transportation to work from their lodgings; established a working group to find long term solutions for the current and future needs of visually impaired and blind individuals to obtain meaningful employment; and worked to assist Maine workers and businesses to succeed during this changing economy.

And I am especially proud of the legislation that the Labor Committee passed so that firefighters are adequately and fairly compensated through workers compensation when risking their lives for all of us and the law to protect Maine jobs for Maine workers. Creating this new committee will shortchange not only Maine workers, but also Maine businesses. Decisions like this shouldn’t be political, they should have sound reasons backing them up, but this one doesn’t.

If you believe in keeping the Labor Committee, I encourage you to contact Senate Republican leaders at 287-1505 or 287-1500.

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