In: Equal Pay|Events|Fair Pay|Labor|Laura Harper|Maine Women's Agenda|Maine Women's Lobby|Paid sick days|Women's Leadership
26 Aug 2010After nearly a century of struggle, on August 26th, 1920, the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote. In 90 years women voters have made a lot of progress – we’ve seen pioneering women like Shirley Chisholm, Hillary Clinton, and Margaret Chase Smith make bids for the presidency, and we have passed landmark legislation [...]
Mark Horton of Woodman’s Bar and Grill shares his story about why he provides paid sick days to all of his employees on the national “Working Families Story Bank.” Mark says that providing Paid Sick days, has “been great for employee well being and great for employee retention.” Does this leave you inspired to share [...]
The legislative session is over in Maine. It came to a close in April, and while the session came to a close during one of the warmest springs on record, unfortunately lawmakers legislature left workers out in the cold. That’s because they once again failed to pass L.D. 1665, a bill that would have provided [...]
In: Labor|Paid sick days
25 Jun 2010The International Labour Organization has just come out with a study on paid sick leaves that finds it is “not only affordable, but pays off in terms of health and economic gains for employers, workers, and the economy at large.” Beneftis vary, but overall 145 countries provide some form of paid sick leave. Unfortunately, paid [...]
In: Paid sick days
30 Mar 2010L.D. 1665, a bill that would have provided paid sick days for Maine workers, is over. Done. Deadsville… For now. While this is a time of extreme disappointment for those who care about basic workplace protections for everyone, it is also a time of rare opportunity. Yes, opportunity. When legislators leave the State House this [...]
Statement of Sarah Standiford, Executive Director: “Despite clear benefits to Maine people and businesses, today the Labor Committee rejected a bill to establish the critical protection of paid sick days for Maine people. In a major blow to Maine workers and their families, today, the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Labor voted Majority Ought Not [...]
In: Labor|Maine Women's Lobby|Paid sick days|Senate President Libby Mitchell
22 Mar 2010By now you may have heard the news: the Maine Legislature will not take up a bill to provide paid sick days for Maine workers. Without support from some members of the labor committee the sponsor, Libby Mitchell, committed to making sure this committee doesn’t leave Maine people with nothing, proposed an amendment where workers [...]
Ever had a day where you had so much going on you weren’t sure how you would ever get it all done in the limited hours of day light? Well, let’s just say that tomorrow is one of those days for our team over here at the Maine Women’s Lobby and Policy Center. Oh, but what [...]
In: Labor|Obama|Paid sick days
15 Mar 2010While driving to the office this morning I heard some comforting words from our First Lady, Michelle Obama. Quoted on a NPR piece, More Employers Make Room for Work-life Balance, the first lady commented that, “this isn’t just about family balance, this is about making workplaces stronger and attracting the most qualified people.” It’s true! [...]
In: Paid sick days
11 Mar 2010The labor committee tabled the bill until next week – L.D. 1665 is a necessary protection for Maine Workers. More updates to come! In the mean time, email Baldacci and ask his support for L.D. 1665.