PORTLAND, Maine — Union officials representing some employees at MaineToday Media — publisher of the Portland Press Herald, Kennebec Journal and other newspapers — have voiced their concern over the impending sale of the organization.
Journalist Tom Bell is president of the News Guild of Maine — which represents some of the marketing, production and newsroom staff at MTM.
He, and others, met this Monday with MTM management and representatives of Camden-based media executive Reade Brower, who announced last month he would be buying the company.
Bell says five layoffs were announced last week, but he's worried many more could follow once the new management takes charge on June 1.
"The sale was structured in a way so that the buyer does not recognize the contract, and the buyer is imposing conditions that would reduce the cost of outsourcing people's jobs, and that's what our No. 1 concern is," he says. "Essentially people's job security will be much less under the new company that under the existing company."
And that, says Bell, is because employee severance is being cut half by the new owner.
Editor's Note: On May 20, 2015, Reade Brower, the incoming owner of MaineToday Media, provided the following comment on this story:
MPBN erroneously reported 5 lay-offs; there were no "layoffs", we did not invite a few employees back because we are beginning anew and building a new team that we believe will create a company built for success and perhaps that means some readjustments and tweaks. We are building our new team and a company culture that is "one for all and all for one"; I do not want to continue an "us and them" because toxicity does not move us forward.
I have gone on record and communicated with current associates that "cut/slash" to prosperity is not in my DNA. Does that mean that we won't continue to readjust and make sure we are built to win? Yes, we will readjust, but all the moves will be made based on a sustainable model with common sense at the core and a company culture that allows us to spend our time, energy and resources on our core products, not on rhetoric, attorney fees, and terms and conditions that hamstring us.
I would rather see our resources going to keep jobs, add jobs, and reward merit and share prosperity. Donald Sussman has been a terrific steward and was a savior for these papers; he has asked us to continue the charge forward and we can do it, but not if we don't make these changes.