The owners of Maine’s largest financially-challenged paper have a new headache on their hands – an expansionist union.
The staffers at the smaller weeklies owned by the Maine Trust for Local News (MTLN) want in on bigger wages.
Though the weeklies are considered the training grounds, the staffers think they should be paid the same as their big brothers and sisters at the Portland Press Herald.
In fact, the staffers at the smaller papers have been lobbying for more than 15 years to try to get the Press Herald union to recognize them.
When Maine Today Media bought the newspaper chain in 2009, the union flat out refused to cover reporters from the Mainely Media weekly papers – at a time when MTM was paying those reporters $12 an hour even as the Press Herald was putting out editorials calling for a minimum $15 “living wage.”
The best the Press Herald reporting staff was able to get in its coverage of the johnny-come-lately union movement was a mealy-mouthed, non-committal from the suits.
“Two years ago we launched a ‘one company’ initiative and we continue to work toward that goal,” MTLN officials said in a statement. “We care deeply about our employees and look forward to working together to grow local journalism in Maine.”
By forcing the suits, the union may actually be on a fool’s errand.
If the union insists on higher wages for the minor-league papers, the trust bosses may respond by cutting staff to rein in the extra expenses.
The trust earlier this year laid off 50 staffers in Maine, suggesting it’s not afraid of the union, no matter how big or small its reach.
Yet union members think they’re on a winning campaign.
“Employees said they are hopeful Maine Trust leaders will respond positively to the expansion effort,” the Press Herald reported. “If the company does not voluntarily recognize the expanded union, workers could hold an election to force its recognition.”
They might need to be careful what they wish for.
