labor

The wage gap between men and women continues to persist, with the median annual gap in earnings just over $10,000, according to a new report from Maine's Permanent Commission on the Status of Women.

The annual Measures of Growth report from Maine Economic Growth Council identifies where the Maine economy is improving and where there is still more work to do compared to other states across the country.

Under the agreement, state employees will receive a one-time payment of $2,000 next month. And the state will hire an outside consultant to complete a study on the classification and compensation of state employees.

The two-year contract covers more than 9,000 workers in the executive branch and will provide two pay raises totaling 9% next year.

Federal labor officials are calling on Starbucks to reopen nearly two dozen locations — including one that closed last year in Portland — alleging that the company illegally shut them down because workers were organizing.

Mark Pearce, speaking in front of the House Education and Labor Committee on Wednesday, said that the company’s actions must be “looked at very carefully,” after Chipotle was accused of blacklisting its Augusta workers who had supported unionization efforts.

They've joined hundreds of other Starbucks stores across the country that have sought union representation since last summer.

Maine's labor market has almost fully recovered after seeing a sharp loss of 95,000 jobs in the early days of the pandemic — a loss documented in a new report from the state Department of Labor.

Union workers at the Sappi paper mill in Skowhegan returned on Thursday to rally for what they say is a fair contract. They're asking the paper mill for higher wages and better benefits.

Frances Perkins, whose roots were in Maine, is remembered as “the woman behind the New Deal.” As FDR’s Secretary of Labor and the first woman to serve as…