, which repeated language from last week's threat letter, Mills wrote, "Generally speaking, I recognize the value of PLAs, or collective bargaining agreements, as a tool to lift up working men and women by ensuring that they are paid strong wages with good benefits.", Mills contended that the legislation's PLA requirement "was a step too far because more than 90% of workers in Maine's construction industry—which would compete for these jobs—are not unionized.
Jason Shedlock, president of the Maine Building and Construction Trades Council and an organizer for the Laborers' International Union , told the: "Right now what we see is the opposite. People leave the state every day to go to other states in New England, to earn family-sustaining wages."Maine's Building Trades include more than 6,000 workers who routinely struggle to find work nearby.
Maine Sen. Chip Curry , the bill's lead sponsor, said in a statement that he is "disappointed by the governor's veto."