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“I’Ve Got A Million Of These Stories”: Workers’ Perspectives At The Eastern Fine Paper Corporation, 1960-2004, Amy Stevens

Maine History

Maine’s modern history is punctuated by factory closings — the textile mills in the 1950's, the shoe factories in the 1980's and 1990's, and most recently the paper mills in various corners of the state. Although numerous studies document the economic impact of these unfortunate events, we have little recourse to understanding the human impact — the stories of the men and women whose lives were so closely entwined with the mills and the communities they so often founded and supported. In this article, Amy Stevens weaves together the documents and the stories that provide a multifaceted picture of the …

Minerva 2009, The Honors College

Minerva

This issue of Minerva includes a story on alumna Betsy Leitch and her husband Bill Leitch, Betsy's connection to Colvin Hall, and their ongoing support of Honors; an article about Colvin Hall renovations and the opening of the Margaret Chase Smith Visiting Faculty Suite; and an interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning Honors graduate, Bettina Boxall. Other highlights include the story of Honors graduate Adam Jones and his involvement in saving the USS Alabama.

Maine's Seafood Industry: From The Outside Looking In, Catherine V. Schmitt

Maine Sea Grant Publications

How did Maine fare at this year's Boston Seafood Show? What can Maine learn about seafood marketing from other states? This article reviews the history of seafood marketing in Maine and profiles current efforts to develop value-added products and enhance sustainability through community supported fisheries. The story originally appeared in the Fall 2009 issue of Maine Food & Lifestyle magazine and is offered here in its entirety.

Requiem For An Industry, Charles A. Scontras

Bureau of Labor Education

In April, the Lewiston City Council voted to demolish the massive Bates Mill No. 5, the last component of the original textile giant, dating from 1850, that is owned by the city. The decision graphically symbolizes the burial of a textile industry. When the textile mills arrived in Maine, public officials viewed them as cathedrals of prosperity and progress, while workers welcomed the opportunity to earn a livelihood. Labor reformers, however, often viewed them as corporate entities that regimented life and work, describing them as "tombs for the living," "living hells," and "prison factories." Over the years, labor made sporadic …

Stretching The Law Ii: The Misclassification Of Employees As Independent Contractors, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine

Bureau of Labor Education

The misclassification of many employees as “independent contractors” (ICs) is problematic in a number of industries and employment situations. An earlier paper by the Bureau of Labor Education (BLE) found widespread violations of IC classification in the state’s construction industry. This paper provides a broader context for this issue with a discussion of the legal climate nationally.

Fair Pay And Fair Contracting: Maine's Prevailing Wage Laws, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine

Bureau of Labor Education

Roads, schools, bridges, government buildings, public hospitals – these are all examples of public works projects. Most states in the U.S., following the lead of the federal government, require that workers in such construction projects must be paid the “prevailing wage” for their occupation, industry and local geographic area. There is substantial research showing that prevailing wage (P.W.) laws can be an important element of economic development and economic stimulus plans, benefiting states, communities, businesses, workers and taxpayers in several ways. Prevailing wage laws: • can benefit communities, states and taxpayers by helping to ensure the most reliable, productive and …

An Automation Algorithm For Harvesting Capital Market Information From The Web, Pankaj Agrrawal

Finance Faculty Scholarship

The purpose of this paper is to develop an algorithm to harvest user specified information on finance portals and compile it into machine‐readable datasets for quantitative analysis. The Visual Basic macro language in Microsoft Excel is applied to develop code that is not constrained by the single‐query function of Excel. The core of the algorithm is built around the splitting of the URL connector line and the placement of a continuously updating variable into which are looped as many tickers as there are in the input list. The output is then written to non‐overlapping cells. Numerical information placed on major …

Maine Sea Grant Annual Report 2009, Maine Sea Grant

Maine Sea Grant Publications

Information in this report, gathered from staff, partners, and funded researchers, relates to the research, extension, communications, education, and management activities of Maine Sea Grant. The information is organized according to the guidance provided by the Office of the Vice President for Research at the University of Maine, and also will be provided to the NOAA National Sea Grant Office.

Most, if not all, of these projects and programs—and their results—involve partnerships with other individuals and organizations. These stakeholder relationships are key to Maine Sea Grant’s success, and we wish to thank our partners for their commitment to the people …

Investing In Maine’S Youngest Children Has Great Returns For Business, Dana F. Connors

Maine Policy Review

Dana F. Connors describes how the business commu­nity has become involved in the dialogue to help steer planning for investments in Maine’s youngest chil­dren. He acknowledges that there are high costs in failing to invest early and notes that creating skilled workers requires building the foundation in the first few years of the worker’s life. He stresses that high-quality early education and care are vital for both individual and statewide economic security.

University Of Maine System Gender Equity Report, University Of Maine System, Associated Faculties Of The University Of Maine System

General University of Maine Publications

Report from the Joint Gender Equity Committee Associated Faculties of the University of Maine System And University of Maine System studying gender equity in faculty salaries.