MECEP Policy Insights events and webinars
Our ongoing Lunch & Learns are shorter Zoom webinars offering an inside look into ongoing policy fights. Held on weekdays at noon and never longer than an hour, we’re able to offer these bite-sized events more regularly than our Conference or Talk.
More Than a Feeling: The State of Maine’s Economy
Wednesday, Oct 23 | 12-12:45 p.m.
People may grumble about the economy, but when asked about their own wallet, they tend to have a rosier view.
There’s good reason for this. Wage growth has outpaced inflation thanks to a strong labor market. Unemployment is historically low. Consumer spending is up. New business filings in Maine have increased.
So then why do many Mainers struggle to make ends meet?
Join us Wednesday, October 23 at noon to explore the numbers behind Maine’s economy and policies that can help Mainers thrive. We’ll reveal fresh research from MECEP’s forthcoming State of Working Maine 2024 and hear firsthand from policy experts and workers whose stories are featured in the report.
Our Talk features one speaker and highlights their lived experience and expertise on center stage. Is there someone you’d like to see onstage at our next Talk? Let us know!
Our Conference brings speakers from multiple organizations and backgrounds together to tackle the big policy issues facing Maine’s families, communities, and economy. Check back for more details on the next conference!
Past events
Watch here.
Featuring:
– Karin Leuthy, MECEP Community Engagement Manager
– James Myall, MECEP Economic Policy Analyst
– Arthur Phillips, MECEP Economic Policy Analyst
– Maura Pillsbury, MECEP State/Local Tax Policy Analyst
– Ryan Tipping, MECEP Director of Campaigns and Strategy (moderator)
Watch here.
Watch here.
Additional insight and perspectives into State of Working Maine 2023: Boosting Maine’s Workforce. Speakers include report author James Myall, Maine workers, and Senator Mattie Daughtry.
Watch here.
MECEP and the Scontras Center for Labor and Community Education invited labor leaders, rank-and-file members, and workers across the state for a briefing on State of Working Maine 2023 to explore the role of the labor movement in addressing Maine’s workforce challenge and ensuring job growth also means growth in quality union jobs.
Watch here.
The inaugural MECEP Policy Insights Talk featured a conversation with Chris Smalls, the founder and president of the Amazon Labor Union, an independent, democratic, worker-led labor union at Amazon in Staten Island and the founder of The Congress of Essential Workers, a nationwide collective of essential workers and allies fighting for better working conditions, better wages, and a better world.
At a FREE in-person event, we heard from Chris about the importance of worker power, the experience of organizing Amazon, and what can be done at the state level to support labor organizers.
Moderated by Taifa Smith Butler, president of Demos and former president & CEO of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. Taifa has more than 20 years of experience in strategic communications, public policy research and data analysis in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors and is a respected voice on economic and racial justice.
Thank you to our sponsors:
- A. Philip Randolph Institute
- Maine AFL-CIO
- Consumers for Affordable Health Care
- EqualityMaine
- Frances Perkins Center
- Institute for Local Self-Reliance
- Maine Small Business Coalition
- Maine Education Association
- Maine Equal Justice
- Maine People’s Alliance
- MSEA-SEIU
- Maine Women’s Lobby
- New Ventures Maine
- Scontras Labor Center
- UMaine Bureau of Labor Education
This virtual Lunch & Learn covers what paid leave will mean for workers, the history of efforts to enact paid leave, what it takes to support and pass good public policy, and next steps in rolling out paid leave in Maine.
Watch here.
This virtual Lunch & Learn provides an update on legislation that would bring fairness and accountability to the corporate tax code, ensure Mainers have access to affordable child care and paid family leave, and build a budget that helps families who need it most.
Watch here.
MECEP’s 2023 Policy Insights Conference covered:
- Impacts of corporate consolidation on workers, small businesses, rising costs, and racial equity
- Tactics used by corporations to exploit loopholes
- Examining effectiveness of tax giveaways to corporations
- Policy solutions to help Maine level the playing field
Watch here.
This virtual Lunch & Learn explores solutions and actions policymakers and the public can pursue during the 131st legislative session to advance economic justice in Maine.
Watch here.
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