There are thirteen ballot initiatives set to be voted on by Portland citizens in November. Normally, MMTA doesn’t get involved in local proposals that don’t have direct impacts on the trucking industry, however, this is something different. The Democrat Socialists of America are behind these radical ideas – from rent control, to minimum wage, to cruise ships, to prescribing “Fair Labor Practices” for UBER and food delivery drivers. If successful, it will start in Portland and will soon be in your town next, making it more expensive and more time consuming with more hoops for you to jump through in different places throughout Maine. It will start with gig workers and tipped employees first, then they will work to expand it to your industry and your company next.
A coalition has formed that is called “Enough is Enough” in reference to what seems to be a constant barrage of local legislative solutions in search of a problem in Portland specifically. MMTA has contributed money to this effort through the Maine Truck PAC because we believe the best strategy is to fight together to tamp down the possibility of this nonsense spreading. For a list of each ballot initiative, please click here.
The “ask” from Enough is Enough is for trade associations like ours to reach out to our members, not only so you know what is going on, but for help. They would really like to have financial contributions sooner rather than later so they can plan for media buys that are predicted to be expensive given the statewide election this November. They are also asking for help identifying messengers and volunteers for the effort, especially those who live or work in Portland and will suffer the consequences if these initiatives pass. Here is a link to the letter being circulated asking for help.
For more information, visit https://enoughisenoughportland.com, or contact Brian or Tim at MMTA.