Advocacy

Labor unions and local politicians staged a demonstration today to send a signal to Ron Kirk, the United States Trade Representative, upon his visit to Bangor.

Kirk is America's top trade negotiator and the labor groups believe free trade deals like NAFTA have sent Maine jobs out of the country.

Recently, the Wausau Mill closed and 209 workers lost their jobs. Other recent closures include the ZF Lemforder manufacturing facility in Brewer, which affected 400 workers and Symmetry Medical, which layed off 103 Mainers after production moved from Auburn to Malaysia.

"Mr. Kirk, take your free trade rhetoric elsewhere, because we're no....

Liberal advocacy groups in Maine are thanking Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both Republicans, for breaking with their party and supporting the "Restoring American Financial Stability Act," a financial reform package spearheaded by the Democrats.

The group, which includes the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP), Maine Equal Justice Partners, Maine Women's Lobby, Maine People's Alliance, Maine AFL-CIO and Coastal Enterprises have sent joint letters of approval after the legislation finally slipped through the Senate today with a 60-39 vote.

"We appreciate your hard work in protecting small businesses and ensuring th....

The ACLU is pushing Congress to outlaw corporal punishment in the United States.

Although the practice has been banned throughout New England, it is currently legal to use physical punishment as a means of disciplining students in 20 states, primarily in the South.

The House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities held a hearing yesterday on the matter.

Linda Pee, a mother from Mississippi, submitted testimony documenting how her daughter was physically disciplined multiple times throughout her school years. During one incident, her child was paddled to the point of bruising by the principal for violat....

As we reported earlier this week, thousands of Mainers are marking Tax Day by participating in "tea parties" across the state. The libertarian-leaning grassroots activists claim that today's policies and politicians violate the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. You may very well hear this message first-hand if you are in Portland, Augusta, Bangor or Presque Isle this afternoon.

Not that these tea parties are the only "populist" political event happening today, as Maine People’s Alliance, a liberal advocacy group is pointing....