LEWISTON — Maine’s labor councils will host Labor Day weekend events in Portland, Lewiston, Waterville and Brewer to honor working people.

Workers, families, friends and community members are invited to celebrate working people and their accomplishments. The keynote speaker at each event will be Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants, the largest flight attendants union in the country.

“Labor Day is a great occasion to honor all of the working people who make our state and our economy run. It’s also a time to call for an economy that rewards work and not just wealth,” Maine AFL-CIO President Cynthia Phinney said in a written statement. “Working people are more productive than ever, but those doing the work are not seeing the rewards,” she said.

“Now more than ever, we need to focus on raising wages and giving workers a voice on the job. This Labor Day, working people and the labor movement stand ready to do all we can to improve the lives of working Mainers,” she said.

Other local speakers at the events will highlight the contract bargaining campaigns at AT&T Mobility, personal stories of the need for universal health care and other local worker struggles.

In Lewiston, a barbecue will be hosted by the Western Maine Labor Council from 1 to 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 4, at the IBEW 567 Union Hall, 238 Goddard Road. The event is free and open to the public.

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For more information, contact Matt Schlobohm at 576-3572 or matt@maineaflcio.org.

Other events include a barbecue hosted by the Central Maine Labor Council in Waterville from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 3, at the head of Falls Park.

On Monday, from 8 to 10 a.m. the Southern Maine Labor Council will host a breakfast at the Irish Heritage Center, 34 Gray St. in Portland.

And, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Monday, the Eastern Maine Labor Council will host a celebration with live music at the Solidarity Center, 20 Ivers St. in Brewer.

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