Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Troy Jackson stopped by People’s Inclusive Welding in South Portland on Saturday as part of a Labor Day weekend tour meant to connect with working Mainers, according to WGME.
Jackson toured the hands-on training facility and spoke about the value of apprenticeship programs. “Making people feel included is how we are going to do a lot better across this state and country,” he told WGME.
Shop owner Jo Remillard told the outlet that funding challenges have followed the school in part because of its name. “A lot of funding has been pulled for workforce training, especially because our school has ‘inclusive’ in the name, that can disqualify us from federal funding, and you know, we are creating skilled trades workers who are going to work on Maine’s infrastructure,” Remillard said.
Jackson responded by pledging continued backing for such programs. “Apprenticeship programs like this is something I’ve always supported. I am certainly going to support more money and support into this if I am lucky enough to pull this off,” he said.
What the school says about its mission
People’s Inclusive Welding describes its mission as offering “a safe and supportive environment for underserved and underrepresented communities” so students can complete welding training, learn about workers’ rights, and move into what it calls “a high paying career within the blue collar industry.”
The school’s handbook states that PIW looks for employer partners who practice racial sensitivity training and aims to give every student “an equitable chance at receiving every ounce of education that they desire within their chosen course.” It also acknowledges that a training environment can be “a triggering and anxiety-inducing space for many people” and asks students to be patient with themselves and one another.
The handbook lists a zero-tolerance policy covering “racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, islamophobia, fatphobia, antisemitism, or any other form of discrimination.” The document says this policy is set “as outlined under Maine Law,” though the Maine Human Rights Commission’s list of protected classes does not separately list “fatphobia” or weight as a protected category. The handbook also states, “Under no circumstances will the police be called or be allowed into the shop space.”
Remillard has written that questions about who gets access to skilled trades jobs shaped the decision to start the school, recalling being one of the only women on many job sites and asking “why weren’t there more women, people of color, or immigrants?” Remillard has also described the killing of George Floyd as a turning point that led to becoming, in Remillard’s words, “a student of anti-racism.”
PIW board member Arlo Hennessey, who describes being “a black trans man with mixed heritage,” has said the trades face a “racism and inclusion issue” and that gatekeeping keeps qualified Black, Indigenous, immigrant and LGBTQ workers from entering the field. “Black, indigenous, immigrant, poc, and lgbtqia+ people are going to have a seat at the table, or these industries are gonna die,” Hennessey has said.
The broader Senate race
The South Portland visit came as Jackson, the former Maine Senate president, campaigns to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Jackson has been endorsed by former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Jackson became the Democratic nominee at the party’s July 25 convention after Graham Platner withdrew following an assault accusation from a former girlfriend, which Platner denied.
Since securing the nomination, Jackson has faced questions tied to a Washington Post report describing episodes of yelling and cursing at colleagues, including a 2021 incident in which he threw a water bottle, and a 1988 case in which he has acknowledged punching a man. A police report from that incident also quoted his longtime partner, Lana Pelletier, saying Jackson had “pushed her around,” though both now say he was not violent toward her. Jackson and Pelletier have also been reported to be second cousins who share two children.
Jackson’s legislative record has also come under scrutiny. In 2023 he voted for a bill allowing some 16- and 17-year-olds to receive nonsurgical gender-affirming hormone therapy without parental consent under certain conditions, backed taxpayer funding for transgender surgeries involving minors, and voted against several bills aimed at restricting transgender participation in girls’ sports. He also supported legislation that made Maine the first state to decriminalize the sale of sex. Jackson recently called himself “working class” after Collins said he had become “essentially a democratic socialist.”
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