CENTRAL MAINE • April 28, 2024
Gov. Janet Mills has again single-handedly scuttled an attempt to correct a significant historical injustice. And this time, in a gesture both ironic and cynical, she vetoed her own bill, L.D. 2273, which was already a severely pared-down version of previous legislation she opposed. The governor’s claim to strongly support a farmworker minimum wage rings hollow in light of the facts. What is now evident is that on the issue of justice for farmworkers, the governor is not a leader but an obstruction. Shame on her. ~ Mike Roland, retired director, Bureau of Labor Standards, Maine Department of Labor