Sen. Tipping receives 2025 Edie Beaulieu Legislative Award, earns perfect score from Maine AFL-CIO for voting record supporting working families

Posted: October 24, 2025 | Senator Tipping

AUGUSTA — Last night, Sen. Mike Tipping, D-Orono, received the 2025 Edie Beaulieu Legislative Award from the Maine AFL-CIO. The award is named for Edie Beaulieu, a former Democratic lawmaker, who fought tirelessly for labor, education and public safety issues. She was the first woman to chair the Labor Committee, which Sen. Tipping currently chairs.

“I am deeply honored to receive this award from my brothers and sisters, my union siblings from across the state,” said Sen. Tipping. “It’s been gratifying to get to work with ironworkers on pay and hour laws, firefighters on issues of PTSD and cancer, teachers on school meals and educator pay, nurses on health care access and hospital staffing and many other union workers on many other vital issues. I deeply appreciate the labor movement and the work of the AFL-CIO in making Mainers’ lives easier and making our state a better place.”

Photo Caption: At the Maine AFL-CIO’s Biennial Convention, Sen. Mike Tipping, D-Orono, spoke to the audience after receiving the 2025 Edie Beaulieu Legislative Award.

In addition to receiving this award, Sen. Tipping also received a perfect score on the Maine AFL-CIO’s 2025 Legislative Scorecard for his voting record to promote fair wages, ensure safe work environments and support working families. He was one of 17 senators to earn a perfect score. The Maine AFL-CIO scored 11 initiatives considered by the 132nd Maine Legislature in 2025.

Sen. Tipping received a perfect score for supporting legislation that would lower costs for working families and protect the state’s future as a place for families to live happily and raise a family. More specifically, he supported legislation to:

  • Protect the income of federal and state employees during government shutdowns.
  • Guarantee a minimum wage for Maine farmworkers.
  • Fund public pre-K-12 education by making the wealthiest pay their fair share.
  • Strengthen the pre-apprenticeship programs that bolster Maine’s workforce.
  • Ensure that the workers powering Maine’s clean energy transition are compensated fairly with good benefits.
  • Help law enforcement and first responders access treatment for PTSD.
  • Fund Maine government services and programs, including education and revenue sharing.

Sen. Tipping also opposed a perennial effort that would weaken the ability of workers to organize for better wages and safe working conditions.

Sen. Tipping has a long history of supporting working families in the Legislature and received a perfect score from the Maine AFL-CIO each year he has served in the Maine Senate. He is a proud member of MSEA-SIEU Local 1989.

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