Members of the Portland Newspaper Guild today voted to ratify a new contract that allows an investment group led by Maine native Rich Connor to buy Blethen Maine Newspapers in partnership with employees.

The vote was conducted by secret ballot, and the results were overwhelming,  161 “yes” and    19 “no,” an 89.5% rate of approval.

Eight two percent (82%) of eligible members participated. No one can ever remember an election turnout that high.

The contract gives workers a fifteen percent (15%) ownership stake in the company. The unions will have three seats on the board of directors, two of which will be representing the Newspaper Guild, the largest union.

Fourteen months ago, when the Blethens put the paper up for sale, we actively began a search for  business partners to buy the paper as part of Employee Stock Ownership Plan. We bought a full-page ad in the newspaper, made phone calls and held a press conference right here. We also created a Web site:www.yourhometownpaper.org

 We found a great partner, Rich Connor, a Bangor native who is editor and publisher of the Times Leaders in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Our ownership stake changes the relationship between employees and the management.

Like in any company,  Rich Connor and his managers will be the decision-makers. They will make personnel decisions and  supervise the staff.  But this new structure will give employees a greater voice in how the company is run. There will be a new labor-management committee charged with finding ways to make the company more profitable.  As part owners, the employees will have a real stake in the company’s bottom-line and its growth.

We must re-invent the newspaper industry if we are to survive. We need everyone in the company thinking like entrepreneurs. We must find ways to get innovative ideas from our front-line workers to the decision makers on the top floors.  

To make this deal work, though, we have made significant sacrifices.

The contract calls for a  10 percent pay cut, a two-year wage freeze a pension freeze and a two-year suspension of 401-k contributions.

These concessions are necessary to help keep the newspaper in business during the worse economic climate  for newspapers in our lifetimes.

They represent our investment in the company. This could be a model for other struggling newspapers around the country as they change ownership.

 We were able to establish common ground with Rich Connor: We all wanted the company to survive this economic storm and succeed. We were willing to sacrifice for the success of the company and, as a result, we will share in its success

None of what we have accomplished in Portland was handed to us.  None of what we have achieved would have been possible without a union to represent the employees' interests throughout this transaction. This is a story of employees deciding to use that organization, their union, to take the initiative to save their newspaper and forge a new vision for the future.