LEWISTON – The Western Maine Labor Council will host its first Labor Day Barbecue on Monday to give L-A area workers and their allies a chance to celebrate the holiday and discuss some of the upcoming challenges facing workers in Maine.

The event is open to the public. It will take place from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 567 Union Hall on Goddard Road.

“Workers in Maine deserve to relax and enjoy the holiday,” said Don Berry, president of the Western Maine Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

“But we also have to be realistic. Labor unions are under attack as never before, and we must remain united and work together to fight for a brighter future for all the working people in this country.”

In addition to traditional offerings from the grills, workers, union activists and their friends will be treated to a lesson on the history of Labor Day in the United States.

Other presentations will be offered on the fight to “Stop the Sale” of Verizon land lines in Maine to FairPoint and the Health Insurance Crisis in the United States, among other things.