Friends and colleagues in labor, Writing to you to share a new report that Joseph van der Naald and I co-authored on Unions in Maine. Modeled after similar reports for New York and New Jersey, we tackle these issues in “Vacationland.” Below you will find a short description, some of our key findings, and a link to down load the report. Please share with those who would be interested. "The State of the Unions: Organized Labor in Maine, 2022-2024 provides a look into Maine’s labor movement. The report analyzes both historical and contemporary union membership patterns in the state of Maine, their implications for the conditions of workers and their wages, as well as recent union organizing efforts in the state.” Key Findings Union Statistics • Maine’s public-sector unionization rate is 41.1%, considerably higher than the 2022-2024 national average of 33.6%. • The industries with the highest rates of unionization are public administration, transportation and utilities, and educational services. • Some of Maine’s least-unionized industries, health services, wholesale and retail trade, educational services, and leisure and hospitality, employ more than half of all workers in the state. • Maine union members make $6.00 an hour more than non-members on average. • The union wage premium is even higher for women workers who earn $6.80 more than their non-union counterparts on average. • Union membership significantly increases wages for non-college educated workers, who earn $7.03 an hour more than their non-union counterparts on average. Organizing Surge • Eight strikes took place in Maine between 2022 and 2024. These included strikes in the service industry, as well as among paper workers and nurses. Download the report here: https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/laborcntr_pub/1/ -- Kevin Van Meter, PhD Email: kevin@readingstruggles.info Website: www.readingstruggles.info <http://www.readingstruggles.info/> Phone: +1 516-655-4675 (iMessage, Signal, WhatsApp) Pronouns: he/him/his Books! New book coming from AK Press: Reading Struggles <https://www.readingstruggles.info/post/ak-press-to-publish-reading-struggles>: Working-Class Self-Activity from Detroit to Turin and Back Again Previous AK Press title: Guerrillas of Desire <https://www.akpress.org/guerrillas-of-desire.html>: Everyday Resistance and Organizing to Make a Revolution Possible Research! Join the search for The American Worker on Twitter <https://twitter.com/AmericanWork47> and Bluesky <https://bsky.app/profile/americanwork47.bsky.social>.