AUGUSTA (AP) – In a long-awaited and major victory for organized labor, Gov. John Baldacci has signed a bill that will extend unemployment benefits to Mainers who have a history of part-time work.

The Maine AFL-CIO, which pressed for passage along with the Maine Women’s Lobby and low-income advocates in the Maine Equal Justice Project, said the bill was a top item on its agenda for the session that ended early Saturday.

“This was a huge victory for us,” Ned McCann, secretary-treasurer of the labor federation, said Monday.

Enactment came a little more than a year after then-Gov. Angus King, an independent, vetoed a similar measure. King said at the time he was concerned about the long-term effect the legislation might have on the state’s economy.

Lawmakers hastily rewrote the bill and sent it back to King, but he pocket-vetoed it.

One of those expressing disappointment with King’s action last year was Laura Fortman, then a leader of the Maine Women’s Lobby. Now, Fortman is a member of Democrat Baldacci’s Cabinet serving as commissioner of the Labor Department.

Under the bill signed by Baldacci, a person who has a history of part-time work is eligible to receive jobless benefits. To be eligible, a recipient must be available for work except under certain circumstances spelled out in the law.

McCann and other supporters said single parents, elderly and disabled workers are among the groups that will benefit from the law.

Another labor bill signed by Baldacci restores to state workers a mechanism to enforce their rights under wage and overtime laws. Similar legislation had also encountered opposition by King during his tenure.

The newly enacted law stems from a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court decision, which said that although state workers are covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, they cannot go to state court to enforce their rights under the law.

To remedy the matter, the Legislature agreed to give state workers the same coverage under the state Fair Labor Standards Act that private-sector employees already enjoy, said Carl Leinonen, executive director of the Maine State Employees Association.

“We’re very pleased we were able to reach an agreement with the administration” to bring state workers to the same legal standard as other workers, Leinonen said.

The same law also extends state workers’ compensation benefits to Maine State Ferry workers.

Legislative action will help to provide group health insurance to Maine workers who are laid off as a result of federal trade policies. The same workers are already eligible for extended unemployment benefits.

The benefits will come from a $15 million federal grant procured by the state Labor Department during the session.

On Wednesday lawmakers carried over to the 2004 session a bill seeking to get rid the so-called Social Security “offset” for unemployment benefits.

Under present law, unemployment benefits for those who collect Social Security are reduced by the amount they receive from the national pension program. The legislation to be reconsidered next year seeks to eliminate that provision.

AP-ES-06-16-03 1530EDT