Mainers rally in their cars outside Blaine House for universal health care

Demonstrating collective action while maintaining proper social distancing, Mainers rallied outside the Blaine House on Thursday in cars adorned with signs and paper dolls to demonstrate their numbers.

The protesters drove to Augusta to deliver a petition signed by nearly 500 individuals and dozens of community groups demanding Governor Janet Mills take swift action to ensure that every Mainer has health care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The petition delivery was organized by the Southern Maine Workers’ Center to amplify the fact that thousands of Mainers across the state have lost jobs, income and health care coverage.

“A recent study estimates that 45,000 to 136,000 people in Maine will lose job-based insurance. 2,000-30,000 will become uninsured, joining the thousands more who were already uninsured before this crisis began,” the petition reads. “The pandemic is also exposing the deadly impact of racism in this country, as Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities are hit hardest. Universal health care is fundamental to ending the structural inequalities which are the root cause of these health disparities.”

Read more: https://mainebeacon.com/mainers-rally-in-their-cars-outside-blaine-house-for-universal-health-care/