AUGUSTA - Today the Maine House of Representatives failed to override Governor Janet T. Mills’  veto of LD 151, “An Act To Protect Farm Workers by Allowing Them To Organize for the Purpose of Collective Bargaining,” which would have extended the right to organize to farm workers in Maine.

“Sadly, Maine has once again failed to lead when it comes to the rights of farmworkers,” said Rep. Thom Harnett (D-Gardner), the sponsor of LD 151. "By not voting to override the veto, a handful of lawmakers today chose to deny Maine farmworkers, the vast majority of whom are black, brown or indigenous, the same set of rights that are enjoyed by all other working people in Maine and throughout the United States. We are talking about the right to talk to one another or their employer about changing their wages or working conditions without fear of being fired. I've been working on this issue for 40 years, but today, in 2022, farmworkers are still not considered employees under Maine law. They may be deemed essential workers, but they are not yet considered employees when it comes to wages and collective bargaining. But while today was a setback, I am not giving up on the fight to ensure that all workers are given the same rights, no matter which sector of the economy they work in or the color of their skin." 

Agricultural workers in Maine, and in the United States, historically have been excluded from labor laws through racialized exemptions at both the state and federal levels. Currently, agricultural workers are not subject to Maine’s minimum wage, overtime and other worker protection laws, such as the ability to discuss wages and working conditions. Under current Maine law, agricultural workers can legally be fired for making any attempt to improve conditions at their workplace.

According to the Maine Center for Economic Policy, Mainers of color, particularly Indigenous and Latino/Hispanic people, are more likely to work in the state’s agricultural sector than the general population. According to the USDA, Migrant workers comprised thirteen percent of Maine’s total 2017 agricultural workforce. 

“This is a relic of racially discriminatory policies enacted in the early 20th century that were designed to provide a wage floor for industries dominated by white workers while preserving the right of employers in fields dominated by workers of color to pay substandard, poverty wages,” said Commissioner James Myall, who serves on the Permanent Commission as a representative of an organization specializing in economics.

“No matter who we are, where we come from or the color of our skin, most of us believe that working people deserve fair pay and fair treatment for their work,” said Commissioner Juana Rodriguez-Vazquez, who represents Latinos and migrant workers on the Permanent Commission. “But today, farmworkers in Maine and across the country lack the basic right to join together to address unfair treatment and unsafe conditions where they exist. This systemic exploitation of farmworkers, who are disproportionately people of color, by a handful of bad actors hurts us all, including our farms. I am deeply disappointed in the veto of this bill that would have simply created a way for workers to stand up for their rights that does not currently exist."

A two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate is required to override a governor’s veto. The final vote in the House was 67-66 in favor of making LD 151 law without the governor’s signature. The bill is now dead.

The Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous and Tribal Populations is an independent entity with a mission to examine the racial disparities across Maine, and to work toward improving the status and outcomes for historically disadvantaged racial, Indigenous and Maine tribal populations. The Permanent Commission is empowered by state law to advise and consult all three branches of government.

AUGUSTA - Today the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Tribal Populations (“Permanent Commission”) joined hundreds of tribal leaders, policy makers, and Maine residents to urge legislative action on LD 1626, “An Act Implementing the Recommendations of the Task Force on Changes to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Implementing Act.”

Tribal Sovereignty is one of the ten named policy priorities of the Permanent Commission. In December 2021, the Permanent Commission surveyed 228 Maine residents in attendance at their first public Community Forum. These individuals were asked to 1) identify issue areas most important to address in Maine (out of the following categories: Basic Rights, Basic Needs, Criminal Justice, Education, Employment and Workers’ Rights, Health Care, Housing and Homelessness, Juvenile Justice, Tribal Sovereignty, and Wealth and Income), and 2) identify their top three priorities out of what they ranked. Out of the 228 respondents for the first question, 181 identified Tribal Sovereignty as a priority (NB: respondents could choose more than one priority). Out of 85 respondents who engaged the second question, 57 respondents identified Tribal Sovereignty as the top priority.

“Sovereignty means inherently sacred, inalienable rights, which should never have been put forth on the negotiations table for debate and compromise. Where sovereignty exists, there is an EQUAL government-to-government relationship. Tribal sovereignty is the right to make decisions for our people without outside interference,” said Commissioner Vice Chief Darrell Newell of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Motahkmikuk, Indian Township. “Our communities thrive when we ourselves can lead the efforts to protect our lands and people. Bits and pieces of limited sovereignty, which is what we currently have, is not sovereignty at all. This legislation, LD 1626, makes an attempt at the restoration of our sacred tribal sovereignty.”

In 2019, The Maine Legislature formed a task force to review the Settlement Act and the corresponding MicMac Settlement Act and make consensus recommendations to the Legislature for legislation regarding any suggested changes. In January 2020, the Task Force on Changes to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Implementing Act issued recommendations to the Legislature. LD 1626 is the culmination of that process and would make the majority of the changes recommended by the Task Force.

“Time and again, recognizing the strain in tribal-state relations resulting from the Settlement Act, Wabanaki tribal leaders have answered the state’s call to return to the negotiating table to develop the amendments that are clearly needed. But time and again, the state has failed to follow through on meaningful changes,” said Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland), co-chair of the Permanent Commission and sponsor of the bill. “We must respect the process that the Legislature initiated with the 2019 task force on changes to the Settlement Act. Doing otherwise amounts to forcing our Wabanaki neighbors to perform political theater with no results but the further erosion of trust. It’s time for Maine to right the wrongs of the past and for us to work together for a better future for all of us.”

The Judiciary committee will hold a work session on LD 1626 in the coming weeks. After the committee reports the bill out, it will be voted on by the House and Senate. If successful, it will then be sent to Governor Janet T. Mills for either her signature or veto.

“We are not wards of the state. We are sovereign tribal nations. We are not municipalities. We are Wabanaki people who have been living in our homelands for thousands of years before Maine existed. It is time to heal old wounds and lift up some of the most marginalized and oppressed people in Maine, but also some of the strongest and spirited. We have come back to this table in good faith,” said Ambassador Maulian Dana, Tribal Ambassador for the Penobscot Nation and co-chair of the Permanent Commission. “Deals often don’t work out the way they were intended and it is never too late to set things right. It is time to restore the things we lost in 1980 when our backs were up against the wall and generations of poverty and trauma that were not our fault forced us to agree to this settlement. The problematic language in the settlement act has been suffocating and unlike anything any other tribes in the country have to contend with.”

The Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous and Tribal Populations is an independent entity with a mission to examine the racial disparities across Maine, and to work toward improving the status and outcomes for historically disadvantaged racial, Indigenous and Maine tribal populations. The Permanent Commission is empowered by state law to advise and consult all three branches of government.

AUGUSTA - The Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous and Tribal Populations (“Permanent Commission”) has published its 2022 Annual Report.

The Permanent Commission is an independent entity with a mission to work toward ending structural racism so all communities can thrive.  To achieve this mission, it is empowered to advise and consult all three branches of Maine government, to introduce legislation, and more. The Permanent Commission examines racial disparities as one tool to combat structural racism. The 2022 Annual Report profiles the work and interests of the Permanent Commission toward that end, including the establishment of the Permanent Commission as an independent agency within state government, building out the advisory role of the Permanent Commission, and the ongoing work to engage with impacted communities.

“No matter what we look like or where we come from, most Maine people believe everyone deserves the same chance to live life the way it should be. But there have always been those who use fear to divide us based on race, gender, orientation, or where we’re from to keep us from working together for a better future for everyone,” said Co-Chairs Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross and Amb. Maulian Dana in the report’s letter to Gov. Janet Mills, Sen. Troy Jackson and Rep. Ryan Fecteau. “For far too long, Maine has allowed the institutions and racism that drive disparities to continue. From our hometowns to the State House, to the halls of Congress, we can join together to right these wrongs and make this a place where all Maine families can thrive.”

The passage of LD 1034, “An Act To Provide Funding To Support the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous and Maine Tribal Populations” in 2021 established the Permanent Commission as an independent agency within state government. The Permanent Commission is directed by that statute to submit an annual report to the governor and Legislature every March.

The first annual report details the work of the Permanent Commission since the release of its 2020 Report to the Legislature. This work has largely focused on three main areas: the establishment of the Permanent Commission as an independent agency within state government, building out the advisory role of the Permanent Commission, and the ongoing work to engage with impacted communities.

Establishing an Agency

The structure of the Permanent Commission is outlined in this section. This includes the representation of commissioners, as well as the acting staff. 

This section also describes the delicate balance of continuing to build the agency while developing research, programming, community engagement opportunities, and other work. This has been and will continue to be a positive challenge. It speaks directly to the need for continued capacity-building support in order to fulfill the critically important mission of the Permanent Commission and build an accessible and sustainable agency.

Advising Maine Government

The practice of advising and consulting all three branches of state government is central to the work of improving the status of impacted populations. Since the Permanent Commission’s establishment as an independent entity within state government, this work has manifested in three main forms: statutory work required by law, advocating for new legislation to improve the status of impacted communities, and consulting with government entities that have approached the Permanent Commission for guidance in their work.

Engaging with Communities

Community engagement lies at the heart of the Permanent Commission’s mission and shapes the way it  carries out its work. In statute, the Permanent Commission is tasked with seeking public input at an annual hearing and has the power to conduct additional community engagement opportunities in partnership with historically disadvantaged racial, Indigenous, and tribal populations. 

Building upon this charge, the Permanent Commission leverages community engagement opportunities in order to center and amplify the voices of historically disadvantaged populations. More than informants or consultants, members of these communities are essential partners, helping to define the Permanent Commission’s direction and approach.

The report closes by framing the work to dismantle structural racism with seven guiding principles to be used by all three branches of government at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as accompanying policy recommendations:

• Building awareness of racial disparities takes resources;
• Awareness alone is not enough;
• Financial and human resources must be allocated to eliminate the disparities caused by structural racism;
• Policies that are ‘race-neutral’ will ultimately maintain existing disparities;
• An adequate response requires a structural analysis;
• Developing solutions should be led by impacted communities; and
• Policies that affect tribal nations in Maine must be enacted in a government-to-government relationship. 

“The Annual Report illustrates the Permanent Commission’s significant needs as a growing, in-demand partner and resource for state government, policy makers, and the general public,” said Commissioner Joby Thoyalil, Chair of the Permanent Commission’s Legislative Committee. “We are committed to working together across race and place to rewrite the rules so all of us can thrive and there are no structural barriers in the pursuit of a great life for all Maine people and families.”

AUGUSTA - Today, the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Tribal Populations (“Permanent Commission”) distributed copies of One Nation, Under Fraud: A Remonstrance, at the request of its authors, Hon. Donna Loring, Hon. Eric Mehnert, and Joseph Gousse, Esq. The publication was made possible by $10,000 Grant for Change from Maine Initiatives.

“This historical document brings to light—through decades of hidden history—what, for a rare moment in 1942, was a candid admission of Maine’s tribal policy at the highest levels of State government: a calculated isolation, control and elimination policy,” said Loring, Mehnert and Gousse. “Drawing on primary sources directly from Maine policymakers, this article finally brings the pieces of the puzzle together, so that we get a clear picture of past, present, and future; a must read for anyone wanting to know the simple truth that drives Maine’s flawed relationship with the tribes and what can be done to improve that relationship in the future.”

Current discourse on tribal-state relations lacks a cohesive history of the origins, development, and maintenance of the power structures that have kept the Wabanaki people in a subservient role relative to the State of Maine, a position unique among tribal nations in the United States. Despite surviving oral and written traditions of a resilient and advanced culture, the preservation remains largely anecdotal. The publication of One Nation, Under Fraud: A Remonstrance provides a comprehensive context for this discourse.

“The opportunity to help educate Mainers on the historical truth of our state’s relationship with the Wabanaki Confederacy and the generational impact of this history on all Mainers is one that the Permanent Commission holds in high regard,” said Permanent Commission Co-Chairs, Penobscot Nation Ambassador Maulian Dana and Representative Rachel Talbot Ross, in the document’s Publisher’s Note. “We are forever grateful to the Hon. Donna Loring, Hon. Eric Mehnert, and Joseph Gousse, Esq. for their historical knowledge, brilliant writing skills, and their unwavering courage to challenge the origin story of statehood and Maine’s sense of exceptionalism. This strengthens our belief in the sovereignty of the Wabanaki, the People of the Dawn, the first peoples of this territory to whom this land belongs since time immemorial.”

The Legislature is expected to vote on bills relating to tribal rights this week. Those bills include LD 1626, “An Act Implementing the Recommendations of the Task Force on Changes to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Implementing Act” and LD 585, “An Act To Enhance Tribal-State Collaboration, To Revise the Tax Laws Regarding the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, the Passamaquoddy Tribe, and the Penobscot Nation and To Authorize Off-track Betting Facilities and Federally Recognized Indian Tribes to Conduct Sports Wagering.” The House  its initial vote to support LD 906, “An Act To Provide Passamaquoddy Tribal Members Access to Clean Drinking Water” yesterday.

The Permanent Commission is an independent entity with a mission to work toward ending structural racism so all communities can thrive. The Permanent Commission examines racial disparities as one tool to combat structural racism, which hurts everyone, including rural Mainers, Black and African American people, Indigenous people, other peoples of color, and all Maine residents struggling to thrive under these systems. To achieve its mission, the Permanent Commission is empowered to advise and consult all three branches of Maine government, and to introduce legislation.