January 30, 2020 — The first organized labor strike over working conditions and wages in the history of what would become the United States happened in Maine in 1636. Toiling in brutal conditions, with their pay withheld for more than a year, six fishermen walked off the job and never came back. Now, 384 years later, unions, lawmakers and historians want to commemorate the event.
“The story of the fishermen strike shows us that Maine workers have resisted and fought back against unfair treatment since before Maine was even a state,” said Andy O’Brien, communications director for the Maine AFL-CIO. “At a time of record wealth and income inequality, we need to keep telling these stories to inspire a new generation of Maine workers.”
The Maine AFL-CIO is a federation of more than 160 local labor unions representing roughly 40,000 workers across the state. It has helped craft a joint resolution for the Legislature recognizing the strike as historically significant and asked Rep. Scott Cuddy, D-Winterport, to sponsor it. Cuddy plans to submit the resolution during the current session.