Taxes and Budget Unfunded bills are unfinished work The legislature has passed a supplemental budget, but its work for this year remains far from done. Both legislative chambers have approved dozens of bills and they […] James Myall Posted April 24, 2024 Tags Child Care, Direct Care Work, Education, Health Care, Higher Education, Job Quality, Minimum Wage, Overtime, Racial Equity, Wages
Taxes and Budget What’s in the $430 million supplemental budget On Monday, Governor Janet Mills signed into law a $430 million supplemental budget passed by the legislature that includes significant investments in pressing needs for Mainers, particularly […] James Myall Posted April 24, 2024 Tags Budget, Education, Housing, Medicare, Revenue, Seniors, SNAP, Wages
Jobs and Income Gov. Mills vetoes 3 bills, including measure to set minimum wage for farmworkers “After a year of deliberation, with all relevant stakeholders at the table agreeing farmworkers should be guaranteed at least the minimum wage, Gov. Mills still chose to […] Portland Press Herald Posted April 23, 2024 Tags Economic Security, Job Quality, Jobs, Wages
Jobs and Income Labor advocates call Gov. Mills’ veto of her own farmworker wage bill ‘an embarrassment’ Arthur Phillips, policy analyst at the Maine Center for Economic Policy who served on the minimum wage committee, said Mills “has reaffirmed farmworkers’ second-class status in Maine’s […] Maine Morning Star Posted April 23, 2024 Tags Economic Security, Job Quality, Jobs, Wages
Taxes and Budget Statement on supplemental budget AUGUSTA, Maine — Garrett Martin, president & CEO at the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP), released the following statement in reaction to the budget approved by […] Posted April 23, 2024 Tags Budget, Child Care, Corporate Power, Direct Care Work, Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness, Taxes, Wages
Jobs and Income, Taxes and Budget Maine lawmakers have signed off on worker protections — now they must fund their implementation Through 2023 and 2024, the Maine legislature passed seven bills to improve Mainers’ rights at work — but these bills won’t become law unless the Appropriations and […] James Myall Posted April 12, 2024 Tags Budget, Job Quality, Jobs, Minimum Wage, Wages
Education, Jobs and Income Poor pay and strained working conditions cause staffing shortages in Maine schools At a glance: Maine has a shortage of educators due to wages that are not competitive Maine educators make less on average than peers with similar levels […] James Myall Posted April 8, 2024 Tags Children, Economic Security, Education, Job Quality, Jobs, K-12 Education, Wages
Jobs and Income Effort continues to ensure state minimum wage for ME farmworkers About one-quarter of Maine farmworkers live in poverty, and they are roughly 4.5 times as likely to live below the poverty line as other workers in the […] Public News Service Posted March 27, 2024 Tags Job Quality, Jobs, Minimum Wage, Wages
Jobs and Income Wednesday Sit-Down: Minimum wage for Maine farm workers In this week’s Wednesday Sit-Down, Arthur Phillips, policy analyst from the Maine Center of Economic Policy, sits down with CBS 13 to talk about the minimum wage […] WGME Posted March 27, 2024 Tags Job Quality, Jobs, Minimum Wage, Wages, Wednesday Sit Down
Jobs and Income Maine lawmakers could still raise the minimum wage to $15 James Myall, a policy analyst with the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP), asked members of the AFA and Labor and Housing committees to think of the […] Beacon Posted March 6, 2024 Tags Job Quality, Jobs, Minimum Wage, Wages