Union Members in Maine and Across the Country Earn Significantly More Than Non-Union Workers. Over the four-year period between 2004 and 2007, unionized workers' wages in Maine were on average 8.6 percent higher than non-union workers with similar characteristics. That means that, all else equal, Maine workers that join a union will earn 8.6 percent more--or $1.54 more per hour in 2008 dollars--than their otherwise identical non-union counterparts. [Unions are Good for Maine's Economy, 2/18/09]

• Higher Wages & Benefits Help U.S. Economy by Giving Workers the Ability to Purchase More Goods & Services: According to the Center for American Progress Action Fund report, unionization is good for the economy overall and "putting more money in workers' pockets would provide a needed boost for the U.S. economy." Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich stated that higher wages and higher benefits would give workers the purchasing power they need to buy more of the goods and services that this economy produces. [Center for American Progress Action Fund, "Unions Are Good for Workers and the Economy," 2/18/09]

Management at the Panolam plant intimidated workers in lead-up to election; Teamsters filed a complaint with the NLRB. In March 2008, the Sun Journal reported that Local 340 of the Teamsters filed an unfair labor practices charge with the National Labor Relations Board against the Panolam plant in Auburn. The vote to certify the union, originally scheduled for March 14, was postponed pending the NLRB investigation. The complaint "specifically states that since on or about Feb. 14 the employer has been engaging in unfair labor practices by: indicating that if the union were certified, the plant might close; spying on employees to determine their support of the union; and other allegations." [Lewiston Sun Journal, 3/5/08]

• Workers hoped to receive increases in wages and health benefits by joining the Teamsters Union. Workers at the Panolam plant wanted to join the union because "the manufacturing workers are hoping union affiliation will produce a wage hike of about $3 per hour and require the company to pay the full amount of medical insurance premiums, among other improvements." [Lewiston Sun Journal, 3/5/08]
• In August 2008, Workers at Panolam voted to join the Teamsters. In August 2008, the Sun Journal reported, "After a 10-month campaign, workers at the Panolam plant agreed to join Local 340 of the Teamsters union by a vote of 163- 109 on Friday, according to Local President Jim Carson... He said the vote was delayed when the union complained to the National Labor Relations Board in March about Panolam's tactics to dissuade workers from joining the union. Carson said the NLRB found in the Teamsters favor and reached a settlement with Panolam." [Lewiston Sun Journal, 8/3/08]

Knight-Celotex Challenged Workers' Vote to Unionize, But NLRB Ruled in Favor of the Workers. In April 2008, workers at Knight-Celotex in Lisbon voted to join the International Association of Machinists, but the company challenged a number of the votes on the basis of worker eligibility. The company "also filed an objection with the NLRB regarding union conduct in advance of the vote." The NLRB ruled in favor of the union and workers in June. [Sun Journal, 6/6/08, 8/2/08]

• Workers Were Inspired to Unionize After Seeing Better Wages, Health Care and Benefits at Bath Iron Works. A union spokesman "said workers at the Lisbon Falls plant were inspired by the contract that machinists negotiated at Bath Iron Works. Workers represented by S6 of the IAM's northeast district were able to get 3.5 to 4 percent wage increases yearly for four years and increased pension contributions without increasing employee percentages for medical insurance." [Sun Journal, 6/6/08]

NLRB Forced Retroactive Pay Raises After Red Cross Staff in Maine Went Over a Year Without a First Contract. In September 2000, the Bangor Daily News reported, "The American Red Cross has agreed to give employees who are members of the Teamsters union a pay increase retroactive to July 1, 2000, it was announced Tuesday. The action came after the National Labor Relations Board upheld charges filed by the Teamsters Local 340 on behalf of 43 people employed in Portland and Bangor facilities... The union charged that Red Cross nonunion workers were offered a
3.5 to 5 percent raise while Teamsters were offered a 2.5 percent wage increase earlier this year... Technicians, mobile unit assistants, nurses and support staff voted to join the union in June and have been trying for more than a year to get their first contract, according to James Carson, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local340." [Bangor Daily News, 9/27/00]

Bangor City Nursing Home Employees Waited Nearly Three Years for a First Contract. In 1996, the Bangor Daily News reported, "A nearly three-year effort to craft a first labor contract for 55 health professionals at the Bangor City Nursing Facility is expected to wrap up Monday evening when the contract finally comes before the City Council... The full- and part-time employees voted to unionize in December
1992, and negotiations with the city began in the spring of 1993. Writing the 39-page first contract involved more than 40 meetings and included outside assistance from a Maine Labor Relations Board mediator and a fact-finding panel... As negotiations dragged on, members of Local 5093 held two demonstrations last summer -- one in front of the nursing facility and one in front of City Hall. They protested the lack of a contract and spoke out about the lack of benefits for part-timers, some of whom work 32 or more hours a week." [Bangor Daily News, 2/24/96]