Publications

Books, Briefing Papers and Bulletins

Maine Labor in the Age of De­i­n­d­u­s­t­r­i­a­l­i­z­a­t­i­o­n­ and Global Markets, 1955-2005, Dr. Charles Scontras.

Detailed coverage of the issues and struggles of the Maine labor moment in the current era with citations and an index for further reading and research.  $15 online at the UMaine Cooperative Extension Bookstore.

Labor Day Celebrates and Remembers the Working Class

Labor Day Articles by Dr. Charles Scontras:

• Maine Voices: Maine workers suffered a catalog of indignities in earlier times, by Charles Scontras, special to the Portland Press Herald, September 3, 2018.
• Worker’s labor is indispensable to our nation’s advancement,  by Charles Scontras, Opinion page of Bangor Daily News, September 2, 2018.
• Remembering the genesis of Labor Day, by Charles Scontras, special to the Sun Journal, September 3, 2018.
• We should elevate the status of work in the modern economy, Portland Press Herald, July 1, 2017,  Dr. Charles Scontras.
• When jobs aren’t enough to overcome low wages, precarious conditions Bangor Daily News, Opinion Page, March 1, 2016

In PDF Form:

• Crossing Picket Lines, UMaine Bureau of Labor Education, Fall 2014 (PDF)
• Right to Work Update, UMaine Bureau of Labor Education, Spring 2013 (PDF)
• Working Conditions and Patient Safety: Safe Staffing in Maine’s Hospitals, UMaine Bureau of Labor Education, 2012 (PDF)
• Oklahoma, Maine, Migration and “Right to Work”: A Confused and Misleading Analysis, UMaine Bureau of Labor Education, Spring 2012 (PDF)
• The Truth about “Right to Work” Laws, UMaine Bureau of Labor Education, Spring 2011 (PDF)

See below to download other briefing papers, and for Labor History titles, safety manuals, and other Bureau of Labor Education publications. For more information contact us at  207.581.4124 or emailing labored@maine.edu.

Download: A Maine Guide to Employment Law, 2008 Edition, 133 pages, 1.9 MB (PDF)

The Guide is available in hardcopy format from our office, for $5/copy. Contact the Bureau to order. 207.581.4124, labored@maine.edu

Maine Labor History

The University of Maine Bureau of Labor Education is the sole publisher of scholarly works by Dr. Charles Scontras on Maine’s rich labor heritage. Because labor history has been largely overlooked by historians of Maine, these books contain material that is not available elsewhere. They are essential reading for anyone looking for a well-rounded account of Maine’s history.

Most of our Maine labor history books can be purchased online at the Cooperative Extension Bookstore.

Labor History Titles

• Maine Labor in the Age of De­i­n­d­u­s­t­r­i­a­l­i­z­a­t­i­o­n­ and Global Markets, 1955-2005. $15
• Time-Line of Selected Highlights of Maine Labor History: 1636-2015. $14 
• In the Name of Humanity: Maine’s Crusade Against Child Labor. Call 207.581.4126 for availability.
• The Socialist Alternative: Utopian Experiments and the Socialist Party of Maine, 1895-1914. $14 
• Organized Labor in Maine: Twentieth Century Origins. Call for availability.
• Collective Efforts Among Maine Workers: Beginnings and Foundations, 1820-1880. Call for availability.
• Samual Gompers and the American Federation of Labor vs. Maine’s Congressman Charles E. Littlefield, 1900-1913. $8
• Organized Labor in Maine: War, Reaction, Depression, and the Rise of the CIO, 1914-1943. Call for availability.
• Labor in Maine: Building the Arsenal of Democracy and Resisting Reaction at Home, 1939-1952. $15

Availability of Publications 

All of our books and materials are available through the Cooperative Extension Online Bookstore and the Bureau of Labor Education.  Some publications may be in short supply and available only for viewing at our office.

To contact us about the availability of publications email Kris Cote, Administrative Specialist, at kristina.cote@maine.edu or call 207.581.4126

Newspaper and Journal Articles

• Labor, industry fighting over unemployment benefits – sounds at lot like the 1960s, Charles Scontras, Special to the Sun Journal (PDF)
• ‘Right-to-work’: The issue that won’t die – A historical perspective, Charlie A. Scontras, Special to the Sun Journal (PDF)
• Requiem for an industry, Charlie Scontras, Special to the Sun Journal (PDF)
• Maine lobster fishermen had early brush with organized labor, Charles Scontras, Special to the Sun Journal (PDF)
• Let’s not forget Labor Day’s spirited beginnings as we face pressures from new economy, Charles Scontras, Special to the Sun Journal (PDF)
• Initiative and referendum: A Maine odyssey, Charles Scontras, Special to the Sun Journal (PDF)
• Nguyen, T. A. (2024, June 20). [Review of the book Republican Vietnam, 1963–1975: War, Society, Diaspora, Trinh M. Luu and Tuong Vu, eds.]. H-Diplo Review Essay 572.

Safety Manuals for Industry

The Bureau periodically delivers safety training through OSHA grants. The most recent grant was designed for construction workers.

Safety Handbook Produced for this Construction Safety Grant:

• Recognizing and Preventing Hazards in the Construction Industry (PDF), Researched, Compiled, and Edited by: Bill Murphy, Gary McGrane, Jane Crouch, and Valerie Carter Technical Review by: Thomas Ryan, Chair of Health and Safety Dept., Central Maine Community College Published by the Bureau of Labor Education The University of Maine Maine Building and Construction Trades Council, Labor Education and Development (L.E.A.D.) Committee of Maine, Inc. and a grant funded in part by OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor 2007

The previous grant provided training for shipyards and boatyards. Over the course of the grant, over 500 Maine ship- and boat-yard employers and employees received on-site safety training and consultations.

Safety Handbook and Instructors’ Manual Produced for the Shipyard/Boatyard Safety Grant:

• Achieving Health and Safety in the Building and Repair of Ships and Boats (PDF), Researched and Written by: Bill Murphy, Jim Nicholson, Valerie Carter, and Jane Crouch Edited by Bill Murphy and John Hanson Published by the Bureau of Labor Education The University of Maine and a grant funded in part by OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor 2004
• Unavailable at the moment, inaccessible document: The Instructors’ Manual produced for the shipyard/boatyard grant is available for free download in PDF format here.

Briefing Papers on policy issues of current interest:

• UPDATE, 2013: What You Should Know About “Right to Work” Laws, UMaine Bureau of Labor Education, March, 2013 (PDF)
• Working Conditions and Patient Safety:  Safe Staffing in Maine’s Hospitals, UMaine Bureau of Labor Education, 2012 (PDF)
• Oklahoma, Maine, Migration and “Right to Work”: A Confused and Misleading Analysis, UMaine Bureau of Labor Education, Spring 2012 (PDF)
• What You Need to Know About… Workers’ Compensation, UMaine Bureau of Labor Education, Spring 2012 (PDF)
• The Truth about “Right to Work” Laws, UMaine Bureau of Labor Education, Spring 2011 (PDF)

Who Pays and Who Benefits?

• 21st Century Tax Reform for Maine, UMaine Bureau of Labor Education, 2010 (PDF)
• Update on Labor’s Demographics, UMaine Bureau of Labor Education, 2010 (PDF)

The Minimum Wage:

• The Minimum Wage: Two Generations of Neglect Add Up, Bureau of Labor Education, Spring 2010 (PDF)

Other:

• Responsible Contractors Help Build Thriving Communities
  2010
• Fair Pay and Fair Contracting: Maine’s Prevailing Wage Laws (PDF)
  2009
• Stretching the Law II: The Misclassification of Employees as Independent Contractors (PDF)
  2009
• Hot Jobs Update: 2008 Outlook for Maine’s Women Workers (PDF)
  Spring 2008
• Privatization Pitfalls (PDF)
  Spring 2008
• The Three E’s: Attaining Occupational Health and Safety Through Education, Engineering, and Enforcement (PDF)
  Spring 2008
• Restoring the Right to Organize: Impacts of the Employee Free Choice Act (PDf)
  Fall 2008
• Stretching the Law, Stressing the State: Misclassified Workers in Maine’s Construction Industry (PDF)
  Spring 2007
• What Counts, and Who’s Counting? Maine’s Business Climate 2006 (PDF)
  Winter 2006
• Project Labor Agreements and Construction in Maine (PDF)
  June 2005
• Hot Jobs or Not So Hot? Outlook for Maine’s Women Workers (PDF)
  Spring 2003
• Fair Weather or Foul? Maine’s Business Climate Revisited (PDF)
  Summer 2002
• Thinking Outside the Box: The Challenge of Maine’s Regional Service Centers (PDF)
  Winter 2002
• The U.S. Healthcare System: Best in the World, or Just the Most Expensive? (PDF)
  Summer 2001
• Labor’s Demographics: Report for 2001 (PDF)
  Spring 2001
• Maine’s Development Dilemma (PDF)
  2001
• The Minimum Wage: Issues to Consider (PDF)
  1999

Printing tip: If the text seems too small when you print a paper from Acrobat Reader, check the Print dialog, and set Page Scaling to None before printing.

Printed copies of some of these papers are available in limited quantities free of charge from the Bureau of Labor Education while supplies last. See our home page for information on how to contact our office.