As a child growing up in rural Maine, there were only so many of us. We all had to contribute if we wanted to field a soccer team, pull off the annual school reunion, or ensure the math team could remain a going concern. Adults and kids alike looked after their own family units and also one another in town. My sense of community was formed by these experiences.
When I was a kid, many of the families in my proximity were struggling — and they focused on hard work to keep themselves afloat. I saw that with my grandparents, who were farmers, and in spades with my mother as she worked hard to forge a path for my sisters and me, at first on her own and later with my stepfather.
We never forgot the help we got along the way because it came from people we saw all the time. From the high school teacher who spent extra time ensuring you were pushing yourself academically, to the neighbors who checked in on the elderly down the road, to the parents who had to rely on one another endlessly as they juggled work demands and carpooling of children. From the guy who noticed your car wouldn’t start and offered a jump.
Once we were doing OK ourselves, we were quick to go out of our way to look after one another, and saw others’ ability to thrive as part and parcel with our wellbeing.
This people-centered goodwill is alive and well today — in Winn, where I was raised, in countless other rural communities across the state and even in metropolitan regions like Portland, where I am fortunate enough to lead a global company of 6,600 employees.
This humanitarian spirit is no accident. It has long been cultivated by this state’s most prominent leaders — from Joshua Chamberlain to Margaret Chase Smith, Ed Muskie to William Cohen, and Olympia Snowe to Hannibal Hamlin, to name a few. Maine’s congressional delegation continues to be a galvanizing force for good.
Earlier this year, I was thrilled when Sen. Susan Collins and Rep. Chellie Pingree took a leadership role in proposing the Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act of 2023. If passed, Collins’ and Pingree’s bipartisan, bicameral legislation, which is co-sponsored by Sen. Angus King, among others, would amend a federal law that prevents asylum seekers from working until they have been here for at least six months.
Like our federal delegation, so too are other Mainers embracing change as an opportunity for progress. As a result, Maine businesses are poised to benefit. With businesses in Maine and across the nation facing a tight labor market, it’s more important than ever that we support our Maine delegation and their calls to reform the employment authorization period for certain asylum seekers from a six-month waiting period to a one-month waiting period.
Like so many who are eager to ensure the wellbeing of themselves and their families, these asylum seekers are uniquely capable and motivated. They are ready and willing to earn and are able to contribute to our community by joining the workforce at a time when it’s needed most. The common-sense solution from our Maine delegation to support asylum seekers’ gainful employment and our economy echoes the humanitarian spirit alive and well here. Maine: The way life should be.
Proud of our Maine roots, Wex has been influenced by our surroundings as well, stating clearly in our company values our commitment to “be a positive force” and to champion positive change in the world to open possibilities for others.
The proposal from Sen. Collins and Rep. Pingree is action-oriented, crafted to remove red tape and relieve undue pressure on state, municipal and philanthropic budgets and, most importantly, to lead the way to getting new Mainers into our labor force sooner. Their three-page bill is a simple and sobering reminder that, as fellow humans, it is shortsighted to not take care of one another as we would ourselves.
As I speak with customers, vendors, health care providers, our philanthropic partners and fellow business leaders, I hear time and again about the potential to do more for their communities, the economy, one another — if only there were more workers available to hire.
I am grateful to have members of our Maine delegation proposing straightforward solutions to help solve our worker shortage and to benefit people, businesses and the fabric of our communities. I continue to be so proud of our delegation and to be from Maine. We can only hope that the old adage rings true: As Maine goes, so goes the nation.
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