Tag: Maine Peoples Alliance

Maine Currents 2/1/17

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Studio Engineer/Segment Producer: John Greenman

President Trump’s actions in his first days in office have been met with protests around the world and right here in Maine- and they show no signs of letting up. Today on “Maine Currents” we’re going to look at the community response to Trump’s executive orders and cabinet nominees. We have a clip from the protest at Bangor International Airport over the weekend, we talk to some of the organizers of local events and then open the phone lines.

Guests:
Lisa Pohlmann, Executive Director, Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), nrcm.org
Susan Dickson-Smith, Founder/Organizer, Eastern Maine for Racial Justice (EMeRJ), facebook.com/emerjmaine , emerjblog.wordpress.com/
Sam Salvadore Portera, Bangor Area Organizer, Maine People’s Alliance, mainepeoplesalliance.org
Karen Marysdaughter, Co-Coordinator, Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine, peacectr.org
Matt Murphy, WERU General Manager, weru.org

WERU News Report 6/3/14

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Segment 1: Maine People’s Alliance and the Natural Resources Defense Council went back to court today in their years-long battle to force the corporations responsible for the mercury contamination in the Penobscot River to clean it up, using the best methods available. We join them at a press conference outside the courthouse

Segment 2: Attorney Kim Tucker has sent a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers, outlining new information that she says warrants putting the Searsport dredge and dump plan on hold and re-opening the public comment period. She explains why.

WERU News Report 4/30/14

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Segment 1: It’s not unusual to hear of small businesses struggling, and eventually being forced to close, especially in this economy—but it IS unusual when a community rallies to save them. News broke earlier this month that Coastal Farm and Food in Belfast was shutting down. The local farmers and food producers who relied on them were being forced to move out. But some local residents decided they weren’t going to let that happen, at least not without a fight. Here to tell that story are two of the people most closely involved (Steve Fein and Peter Wilkinson):

Segment 2: The problem of mercury contamination in the lower Penobscot river and upper bay has been receiving a lot of attention in recent weeks, after it forced the closure of the lobster and crab fisheries in the area. State officials estimate that it will be at least 2 years before the area is re-opened. But work to expose and deal with the source of the mercury from the former Holtrachem plant started more than 20 years ago, led by a grassroots movement of concerned area residents, the Maine People’s Alliance, and other environmental groups. Over the years, the Maine People’s Alliance has pursued the issue through the court system, winning a series of rulings forcing the former owners of the Holtrachem plant, a giant corporation called Mallinkrodt, to address contamination at the site in Orrington, as well as in the river. Their next big day in court is coming up in June, and they are inviting anyone who is concerned about the issue to join them in court on the opening day, June 3rd. At a presentation in Stockton Springs Saturday, Nancy Galland, one of the plaintiffs in the case, gave some background on the issue:

WERU News Report 4/18/12

Issue: Independent, Alternative Local News
Producer/Host/Engineer: Amy Browne
Contributor: John Greenman

Program Topics: Segment 1: Steve Brouwer talking about his new book “Revolutionary Doctors: How Venezuela and Cuba are Changing the World’s Conception of Health Care”; Segment 2: The Maine People’s Alliance marked tax day yesterday by attempting to present tax bills to Bank of America branches across the state. I caught up with the group in Bangor

Key Discussion Points:
a) Training of medical professionals in Venezuela
b) Maine People’s Alliance protest
c) Bank of America –bail out and tax responsibility

Guests:
A) Steve Brouwer (lecture recorded by John Greenman at the UMaine Marxist and Socialist Lecture Series)
B) Nicole Brown, Maine People’s Alliance (fmi: www.mainepeoplesalliance.org)

Call In Program: no

RadioActive 2/23/12

Issue: Environmental and Social Justice
Host: Meredith DeFrancesco
Studio Engineer: Meredith DeFrancesco

Broadcast Time:4-4:30PM

Program Topic: Maine House Approves bill removing unionizing rights for egg farm workers

Key Discussion Points:

a) On Tuesday, the Maine House passed LD 1207 “An Act to Amend the Labor Laws Relating to Certain Agricultural Employees”. This bill seeks to overturn legislation passed in 1997 to allow for egg workers in facilities with more than 100 workers and 500,000 laying hens the right to unionize. This, and a bill passed in 1975 to allow the same set of workers the right to a minimum wage standard and overtime, both aimed to temper the egregious working conditions at the Decoster egg farms in Turner.

b) Federally, the National Labor Relations Act excludes agricultural workers from the rights to a minimum wage standard, overtime or the right to collective bargaining . It is up to individual states to grant these rights. At least 9 states now allow some form of collective bargaining for agricultural workers.

c).Decoster is now leasing it’s Maine factories to Moark, LLC, a subsidiary of Land O’ Lakes. The Maine Senate is expected to vote on LD 1207 as soon as next week. There is a lack of support for the bill, however, from both Democrats and Republicans.

Guests:
A ) Ben Chin, Maine Peoples Alliance, www.mainepeoplesalliance.org
B) Representative Jeffrey Timberlake, Maine State of Representatives, www.maine.gov/ legis
C) Matt Schlobaum, maine AFL-CIO, www.maineaflcio.org

Call In Program: No

Voices 12/28/10

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

John Christie of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting on his recent article “Shaded solar panels, disconnected wind turbines: tales of a $1.1 million state energy program” (http://pinetreewatchdog.org/) and Maine People’s Alliance (http://mainepeoplesalliance.org/) and Governor-elect Paul LePage’s transition team (www.lepagetransition.com) — attempts to find common ground are mired in accusations.