Joe prides himself on being an advocate for hard-working Mainers through his legal practice. Throughout his 40+ years as an attorney in Maine, he's met countless Mainers from all 16 counties who work hard and yet who still struggle financially, which is why he's promoting Fair Wage Maine, a citizens' initiative launched by the Maine People's Alliance and the Maine AFL-CIO to put a statewide increase in Maine's minimum wage on the 2016 ballot. The initiative would increase the minimum wage to $9 an hour in 2017 and then by $1 a year until it reaches $12 by 2020, after which it would increase at the same rate as the cost of living. Under this initiative, the tipped minimum wage would also increase until it matches the minimum wage for all other workers by 2024. Joe has been heartened to see that states that have increased minimum wage have also created more jobs than states that haven't raised the minimum wage. He hopes that Mainers get a choice to vote on this important issue in 2016, and that the Maine economy starts to grow in a way that benefits Mainers all up and down the economic ladder.
To learn more about this initiative, you can attend the annual Rising Tide dinner on June 11th in Portland- find more info here. Joe hopes that the event is a success!
