Who We Are
Created by the Maine State Legislature in 2022, The Dr. Charles A. Scontras Center for Labor and Community Education (the “Scontras Labor Center”) provides lifelong, community-based labor education, research, and outreach.
The Scontras Labor Center’s goal is to empower Maine’s working class through workshops, symposia, skills-based learning and opportunities for applied research. The Center works collaboratively with the University of Southern Maine to integrate university curricula and faculty into the Center’s programs.
Carrying on the legacy of our namesake, who said “we have an obligation to future generations to save and document this important history,” the Scontras Labor Center works to help its students view all our subject in a historical and social context in order to examine how lessons from the past can help them create strategies to improve their lives today.
What We Do
The Scontras Labor Center provides training, education, and resources to unions, community groups, and worker organizations. In addition to working with established labor organizations in Maine, we strive to develop deep partnerships with our surrounding communities and to serve as a bridge between the university and residents across Maine. We take a hands-on, community outreach approach to create participatory, popular education classes that make complex subjects such as workers’ rights and labor history accessible to working-class Mainers.
The Scontras Labor Center also provides customized trainings for individual organizations. We will meet with you for an initial consultation to determine your needs and work with you to build a customized curriculum that meets your organization’s needs. Please visit our Contact Us page to learn more.
In addition to providing classes and workshops the Scontras Labor Center hosts issue forums, guest speakers and other events.
