MAINE, USA — On a day that honors and celebrates the labor movement and achievements of American workers, the Maine Biden campaign will launch a coalition that will seek to amplify the voices of hardworking men and women in Maine.
“Labor for Biden” will officially launch on Monday, according to campaign officials, with Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, Maine State Senator Troy Jackson, and representatives from a wide variety of Maine labor unions speaking via Zoom starting at 4:30 p.m.
Spencer Thibodeau, a senior advisor for the Maine Biden campaign, says the coalition is a "building block to the foundation Vice President [Joe Biden] has already set up" in Maine and across the country.
“[The coalition] is a celebration of the hard work put forth every day,” Thibodeau said ahead of the launch.
Maine Biden campaign Deputy State Director BJ McCollister says the coalition is comprised of unions from every major sector in Maine, such as the lobster fishermen, teachers, shipbuilders, and more. McCollister called the launch a "rallying cry" to working Mainers to support Biden.
The campaign says Biden has been building relationships with Maine labor workers, citing his personal involvement with the Bath Iron Works strike earlier this summer. In June shortly after union members voted to strike, Biden called on Bath Iron Works to resume contract talks and make striking union members a “fair offer”
"It’s up to us to make sure that those same workers have what they need to accomplish that for their own families. A job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It’s about dignity," Biden said in his June statement.
During the strike, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) wrote to President Donald Trump asking for him to support striking workers. It remains unclear if the White House or Trump responded to the letter, but months later after the strike ended Trump Tweeted his congratulations to union members, saying he was "glad to have helped."
A General Dynamics spokesperson could not share any information about how Trump helped with the negotiations.
Maine Republican National Committee Spokesperson Nina McLaughlin responded to the Biden initiative by saying, “Joe Biden never has been and never will be a friend to Maine workers. Under the Obama – Biden administration, Maine lost manufacturing jobs, saw high unemployment rates, and shuttered factories. President Trump on the other hand created economic Opportunity Zones as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, revitalizing Maine’s manufacturing economy.”
So far Biden has picked up several endorsements from Maine labor unions, including the Maine chapter of the largest federation of unions in the U.S., the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).
The Maine State Nurses Association, UA Local 716 Maine Plumbers and Pipefitters, and the Maine Education Association are among the labor union endorsements for Biden.
Biden’s plan to support American laborers and unions will focus on growing a stronger, more inclusive middle class by strengthening public and private sector unions and helping all workers bargain successfully.
McCollister says Biden's plan for unions is "the most progressive" he's seen in a candidate and could not be more different than Trump's.
The Biden campaign National Director of Labor Engagement Erika Dinkel-Smith said in a statement to NEWS CENTER Maine:
"Millions of working families across America are struggling to survive as they lose their jobs, hours, health insurance, good wages, and even risking their lives on the front line of the pandemic under Donald Trump’s failed presidency. The economy might be improving for Trump and his wealthy friends, but working families across Maine deserve a president who will reinvest in the middle class and build an economy that cuts everyone into the deal. We need a president who will not just support workers and unions, but encourage them - Joe Biden will be that president."
The Trump campaign's "Workers for Trump" coalition references Trump's work to "hold China accountable for their unfair trade and currency policies." The campaign also says, "He also kept his promise to kill the disastrous Trans-Pacific Partnership and kept his promise to renegotiate NAFTA and secure a better deal for American workers."
But McCollister says those deals and tariffs have only hurt Maine industries, specifically the lobster industry.
"[Trump] talks a lot but he has not had [Maine workers'] backs," McCollister said. "Promises have not been delivered."
The Maine Biden campaign says for the next 59 days until the election, the coalition will host events, hold roundtables, and organize to spread the message of hardworking Mainers. Monday's launch will also signal the start of union member-to-member programs that seeks to gain labor support for Biden leading up to the election.
“The journey doesn’t end on Election Day,” Thibodeau says. “The fight continues for working men and women.”
