A majority of the non-supervisory staff of The Maine Monitor announced July 27 their intention to form a union.
“Our union will be a positive step forward for both union members and the overall organization,” said Rose Lundy, senior reporter at The Monitor, in a statement. “The Maine Monitor Union will strengthen our newsroom, make The Monitor more attractive to talented candidates and will give staff the ability to speak with one voice.”
Micaela Schweitzer-Bluhm, executive director of the nonprofit Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, publisher of The Maine Monitor, said the board of directors voted unanimously to voluntarily recognize the union.
“The leadership and board of directors of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting confirmed the importance of preserving thoughtful collaboration with our employees,” Schweitzer-Bluhm said. “The next steps will follow a well-defined legal process. While this process is underway, everyone at The Maine Monitor remains fully focused on our work of delivering insightful public interest reporting on the issues impacting Maine and keeping it free for all to access and use.”
The Maine Monitor employs 19 full-time staff and one part time employee.
“As a nonprofit news organization, we’ve experienced incredible growth in the last few years, and we will continue to grow because Mainers need our independent, nonpartisan and free-to-read statewide and local reporting,” said Emily Barr, president of the MCPIR board of directors. “Local news is a public good, and we do not take lightly what it means to be trusted with that work by the people of Maine.”
The union will be part of The News Guild of Maine, Local 31128 of The Newspaper Guild-Communications Workers of America.
“We are thrilled to welcome the workers of The Maine Monitor into our union. This step will strengthen a respected news organization and enable these journalists to continue their important mission in our state,” said Megan Gray, president of The News Guild of Maine, in a statement.
The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting was founded in 2009 by veteran Maine journalists John Christie and Naomi Schalit to produce the independent local journalism Maine needs and to revive critical investigative and in-depth reporting. Since its launch, it has made its reporting available for free to all and for free republication by fellow news organizations. Reporting by MCPIR and The Maine Monitor has catalyzed solutions at every level of state government, including the creation of a public defender program, new mining regulations, and more accountability for opioid settlement funding.
“We look forward to fostering a productive, respectful labor-management environment with The NewsGuild of Maine,” said Schweitzer-Bluhm. “Every staff member here will continue working toward the same goals: holding institutions accountable and making sure our neighbors across Maine have the information they need to participate in civic life and understand what’s happening in the places they call home.”
