Best Places to Work? Based on What Criteria?

The Maine State Council of the Society for Human Resources Management has released a list of 42 companies designated, "Best Places to Work in Maine."
(From the Maine Sunday Telegram, 8/26/2012.)

http://mainebusiness.mainetoday.com/newsdirect/release.html?id=11438

I would be curious to know these companies' practices on collective bargaining and union representation. I also find the surplus of banks, financial institutions and insurance companies rather odd. From what I understand, banks in particular have a high turnaround. I have a friend and an uncle who were fired from local banks in recent years--both after considerable time of employment and based on seemingly innocuous criteria.

And where is L.L. Bean? Isn't part of their reputation based on their positive employee treatment?

One way to make "significant improvements in... workplace culture" would be to allow the employees to collectively own the institutions they work at. Another would be to then pay those employees a living wage. Yet somehow I doubt either of these concepts were factors in determining the companies on this list.