Scontras Center

Building an Advocacy Toolbox: Community Organizing Across Differences

Thursday, September 24, 2026 from 4:30-6:00 PM

Islamic Center of Maine 151 Park St., Orono. In person only.

Bayard Love of the Industrial Areas Foundation and Ground Water Institute.

Co-sponsored with Faith Linking In Action

https://extension.umaine.edu/ble/ble-events/

Contact the Bureau of Labor Education if you need an accommodation to attend this event.

Week 1 of our “How to Get Members Involved and Organize Within Your Union” class was so exciting! Shouts out to this dynamic group of union leaders!

Just a few more days to register for this class!

https://www.campusce.net/southernmainepdp/Course/Course.aspx?c=90

A union is only as strong as its active membership, but it often feels like “no one wants to do anything.” When engagement stalls, organizational strength disappears. This 6-week course is designed for stewards, activists, and union leaders who seek to increase members’ participation.

For more info and to register: https://www.campusce.net/southernmainepdp/Course/Course.aspx?c=90

Join us for two chances to see Joe Uehlein on his Three Roads Book and Music Tour!

After decades of organizing from within the labor movement, Joe Uehlein realized that winning real climate and economic justice meant moving beyond the limits of traditional labor and environmentalism. As former secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO’s Industrial Division and director of the AFL-CIO’s Center for Strategic Campaigns, Joe fought from the inside. But in 2005, he stepped away from the AFL-CIO to found the Labor Network for Sustainability, forging deep alliances between labor, climate, and environmental movements. His vision: transform the labor movement to embrace ecological responsibility and environmentalism to uplift working-class solidarity.

But Joe’s work has never been confined to boardrooms or picket lines. With a guitar in hand, he’s shared stages with Pete Seeger and Tom Morello, turning songs into rallying cries and stories into tools for resistance. In our latest, we’re excited to talk with legendary labor and climate organizer Joe Uehlein about his new memoir that details his life’s work of labor organizing, climate organizing and music.

Two chances to see him!

When: Thursday, September 17 from 6-8 pm
Where: Space Gallery, 538 Congress St., Portland, ME 04101

When: Thursday, September 17, 1:30-2:30pm
Where: McGoldrick Center for Career & Student Success, Salon A, 35 Bedford St, Portland, ME 04101

Please join us in welcoming the Scontras Labor Center’s new Labor Educator and Sociology Lecturer, Dr. Michael Gould-Wartofsky!

Dr. Michael Gould-Wartofsky is a scholar of immigrant labor and immigration enforcement, as well as cities, states, and social movements. In addition to being a Labor Educator at the Scontras Center, he is the newest member of the Department of Sociology and Criminology at USM. Dr. Gould-Wartofsky earned his BA at Harvard College and his PhD at New York University. He was the inaugural post-doctoral scholar at Columbia’s Work and Labor Lab, and previously taught in the sociology departments at Rutgers and NYU. He is the author of The Occupiers (Oxford 2015) and Resistant Cities (a work in progress). In his spare time, Dr. Gould-Wartofsky is a writer, photographer, traditional music performer, and advocate for social and economic justice.

Last two photos taken at Michael’s presentation at Summer Institute titled “Labor in Defense of Immigrants.”

10 days out! Register here: https://www.campusce.net/southernmainepdp/course/course.aspx?C=90&pc=17&mc=0&sc=0&link_id=4&can_id=d7de9d8558f4cd7ae7dcc6a8fbfc41cd&

A union is only as strong as its active membership, but it often feels like “no one wants to do anything.” When engagement stalls, organizational strength disappears. This 6-week course is designed for stewards, activists, and union leaders who seek to increase members’ participation.

For more info and to register: https://www.campusce.net/southernmainepdp/Course/Course.aspx?c=90

What’s the Scontras Center been up to this summer? 🤔

1-2: In July, we hosted a lunch and labor history event to tour the Maine Historical Society’s great exhibit of the Granite Cutters Union in Hallowell of the 1800s.
3-4: We hosted a labor movement day at the Sea Dogs along with MSEA-1989 and NALC Branch 92!
5-6: Along with the Maine AFL-CIO’s Labor Reading Group, we hosted author Joan Williams to discuss her book Out-Classed.

A union is only as strong as its active membership, but it often feels like “no one wants to do anything.” When engagement stalls, organizational strength disappears. This 6-week course is designed for stewards, activists, and union leaders who seek to increase members’ participation.

For more info and to register: https://www.campusce.net/southernmainepdp/Course/Course.aspx?c=90

This was the Scontras Center’s third year co-sponsoring the Maine AFL-CIO’s Summer Institute, along with the Bureau of Labor Education, University of Maine! We had a great time being apart of the planning and facilitating workshops. Always so exciting to connect with union members from across the state and feel the energy!

Last chance to register for Join us for this hybrid Maine AFL-CIO Labor Reading Group Discussion!

When: Thursday, July 23rd, 6:00pm
Where: McGoldrick Center, 2nd Floor Salons• 35 Bedford St, Portland, ME 04101 and over Zoom
Register here:https://bit.ly/OutClassed2026

Co-sponsored by A. Philip Randolph Institute - Maine Chapter

Description:
Earlier this year, the ME AFL-CIO Labor Reading Group read Williams's book, Outclassed: How the Left Lost the Working Class and How to Win Them Back. Now, we're excited to welcome her for an engaging discussion on class culture, the changing nature of the American working class, and what these shifts mean for anyone interested in building a stronger labor movement.

What does it mean to be "working class" today? Is class primarily about economic position, education, culture, or identity? Or some combination of all of these? Williams will explore how class shapes our workplaces, politics, and everyday interactions.

Joan C. Williams is an internationally recognized scholar of social inequality, a distinguished professor of law, and the author of numerous books on class, gender, and work. Her research has influenced conversations on labor, economic inequality, and political polarization across the United States.

Labor Reading Group Discussion with Joan C. Williams Join the Scontras Center for Labor and Community Education and the Maine AFL-CIO Labor Reading Group for a special evening with bestselling author Joan C. Williams. Earlier this year, the ME AFL-CIO Labor Reading Group read Williams's book, Outclassed: How the Left Lost the Working Class and How to....