BANGOR, Maine - Maine's largest coalition of labor organizations will gather for a political convention this week. Maine AFL-CIO Executive Director Matt Schlobohm says his group sees the convention as necessary - beyond the standard partisan political conventions - to highlight labor concerns.
"Unions and working people are driving an agenda to push workers' issues in this election season, in legislatures across the country," Schlobohn says. "And I think workers are making real progress raising wages across the country, demanding paid sick days, demanding fair scheduling, demanding an economy that works for everyone and not just the wealthy few."
Schlobohm says the major issues to be taken up at the convention include rallying support for two November ballot issues: a proposal to increase the minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2020, and another to add a 3 percent surcharge on incomes over $200,000 a year to fund education programs.
The convention will be held Thursday and Friday in Auburn.
