NWU Member Lorri Nandrea (left) Linda Deane, President of the Western Maine Labor Council, at the Maine AFL-CIO 2024 COPE Convention
The Maine AFL-CIO held its biannual Committee on Political Education Convention, June 27-28, 2024, in Auburn, Maine. The convention was attended by delegates and guests from 42 affiliates (union locals and CLCs), representing over 16,000 union members across the state. Lorri Nandrea (NWU-Boston Chapter) attended as a delegate from the Western Maine Labor Council.
The convention program included a review of legislative victories for workers, such as the outlawing of “captive audience” meetings. It also covered continuing fights, such as the struggle over nurse-to-patient ratios. Special attention was given to the Maine Labor Climate Council’s offshore wind power campaign, which shows the potential of blue-green alliances to craft legislation that is good for workers and the environment.
Participants heard from union candidates running for office, as well as Senate President Troy Jackson and State Representative Amy Roeder. They discussed what is at stake for working people in the 2024 presidential race, with special attention to Biden’s impressive record on labor issues, and the progress enabled by Biden’s NLRB. (State AFL-CIOs do not endorse in the Presidential races, but the National AFL-CIO has endorsed Biden.) Delegates voted on Maine candidate endorsements, and applauded award recipients. The spirit of solidarity and unity in the room was very strong and energizing.
