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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Maine Trust for Local News workers rally to expand their union
Workers and union organizers walk out of the Portland Press Herald offices in South Portland, Maine on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, to attend a rally in support of expanding their union to cover reporters at other publications run by the Press Herald's parent organization, the Maine Trust for Local News. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) About three dozen reporters, photographers, page designers and union activists gathered on a brown lawn adjacent to the Portland Press Herald offices and printing plant Tuesday morning to announce their drive to unionize news workers at all of the Maine Trust for Local News' weekly and daily paper operations around the state. The News Guild of Maine, which is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America, already represents about 150 workers at the Trust's papers and aims to include the 50 or so remaining non-union jobs at the Sun Journal in Lewiston, The Times Record in Brunswick and the Trust's 17 weekly publications. Workers at the daily Kennebec Journal are represented by a separate branch of the CWA and are in the process of merging with the guild. 'More than 70% of those [50 non-union] workers have signed union authorization cards,' said Megan Gray, president of the News Guild of Maine. On Monday, the guild filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board seeking voluntary union recognition for those workers. The guild has marked the effort as a drive for 'One Big Union.' The nonprofit Trust is the state's largest network of independent news and media outlets. It's a subsidiary of the Colorado-based National Trust for Local News. Management at the Trust has yet to respond to union demands. Messages seeking comment were not immediately returned. Speakers at the union rally expressed concerns about huge pay disparities between publications within the Trust, lack of job security and dwindling local content as papers are forced to work with fewer reporters and share non-local stories. Paul Bagnall, an experienced reporter at The Times Record, said as a non-union worker he makes $18 per hour while starting reporters at the Press Herald earn a minimum of $28.75 per hour. 'With the cost of living going up, my paycheck has already stretched to a breaking point,' Bagnall said. 'I am currently priced out of potential sources of information — going out to events, restaurants and cafes due to the cost of living — and it's still rising.' Joe Lawlor, a longtime Press Herald reporter, called Bagnall's pay shameful. 'We can do better,' Lawlor said. Sophie Burchell, a non-union reporter at the Trust's southern Maine community news division, said her job is unfairly seen as a stepping stone, rather than a sustainable career. 'I want it to be seen as a place people can grow and thrive,' Burchell said. 'I want to see my peers and their talents thrive in Maine journalism.' Kendra Caruso, an education writer at the Sun Journal, said the Trust isn't living up to its own journalism mission. 'Its stated goal is to prevent news deserts across the nation. However, changes the company implemented early this year, including staff layoffs, have only increased the risk of more news deserts in Maine and decreased the amount of local news coming out of our newsrooms across the state,' Caruso said. Gray said there was no way for the Trust to continue to support local journalism without first supporting its local journalists. 'We're expanding our union because we know that we must invest in our workers in order to invest in the future of journalism,' she said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maine Senate rejects effort to ban trans girls from sports
Alice Frost, who identifies as transgender, speaks to a reporter after a rally in Cumberland, Maine on Sunday, March 23, 2025, calling on Maine lawmakers, and local MSAD51 school officials, to support transgender student athletes. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) Despite pressure from the Trump administration to repeal protections for transgender student athletes, lawmakers in the Maine Senate late Thursday rejected legislation that would restrict transgender students' access to school sports and bathrooms. The majority of the chamber also shot down an effort to roll back state law that establishes a process for someone at least 16 years old to access gender-affirming health care. The bills — LD 1134 and LD 380 — mark the first of several targeting transgender rights that will go before lawmakers in the Senate and Maine House of Representatives in the coming days. LD 1134 would specifically ban transgender girls from playing girls sports or using girls bathrooms or locker rooms. It is one of three similar proposals this session that require trans students to adhere to sports and facilities that align with the sex assigned at birth. The Senate voted 21-14 in support of a motion to reject the measure, with Sen. Rick Bennett of (R-Oxford) joining Democrats against the bill. In a speech on the Senate floor, Bennett commended the students who spoke up on 'every side of the issue.' Transgender teens and allies crowd State House to fight anti-trans bills 'These are Maine kids and they deserve to grow up in a state where they are safe, respected and seen,' he said. Referring to those who say the bill seeks to put the state in compliance with federal anti-discrimination protections, he said those questions are 'already being addressed in courts where they belong. What we are being asked today is something different: deciding if our laws will affirm the dignity of every child in Maine, or diminish it.' Many of the bill's critics focused on what they said were inherent biological differences between males and females and the superior athleticism of males. Bill sponsor Sen. Sue Bernard (R-Aroostook) told her colleagues she meant no disrespect to the trans community with the bill. 'I'm merely recognizing biological strengths and differences that exist,' she said. 'It's also what's inherently fair and unfair about requiring girls to compete against trans athletes. There's nothing new about leveling the playing field in sports.' Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot), however, pointed out that trans women and girls have been competing alongside cisgender girls in sports in Maine for decades without much fanfare. 'This is nothing new,' he said. 'What is new is the outsized and disproportionate focus on their lives, especially on what trans kids get to do at school.' He continued, 'Banning a group of kids from playing sports alongside their classmates simply because of who they are is not about ensuring fairness. It's about drawing a line of exclusion. And for trans youth, who already face significantly higher rates of bullying, depression and suicide, being told they don't belong will have serious consequences for their health and their well being.' The Senate also voted 21-14 against LD 380, which would no longer allow minors that are at least 16 years old to consent to gender-affirming care, which can include a wide range of services, including hormone therapy and counseling. Debate centers on fairness and safety during hearing on transgender sports bills Sen. David Haggan (R-Penobscot), who sponsored the legislation, said parents should know what children are doing, 'in all facets of life,' until they are 18 years old. Sen. Anne Carney (D-Cumberland) said the current law was passed after 'exhaustive study and debate in the 131st Legislature. There's no reason to change.' Hundreds of people attended the May public hearing on the slate of anti-trans bills, the vast majority of whom were there in support of trans students. Citing national attacks on trans rights, students, parents of trans youth, faith leaders, educators and other community members testified against the proposals. In 2021, the Maine Human Rights Act was amended to include gender identity as a protected class against discrimination. But that policy has been the subject of debate and scrutiny since President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal funding unless Maine complies with his executive order banning transgender girls from playing girls' sports. The U.S. Department of Justice is currently suing the state over what it says are violations of Title IX, which protects against discrimination in schools. Other legislation expected to appear before the House and Senate include proposals to restrict the rights of students to use affirming pronouns and broader bills attempting to remove gender identity as part of the Maine Human Rights Act. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
May Day rallies across Maine celebrate labor rights amid federal backlash
Nate Bantan plays euphonium with the Ideal Maine Band during a May Day march in Portland, Maine on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) Labor unions' annual May Day celebrations took on new urgency this year as workers rallied across Maine on Thursday to mark International Worker's Day and protest the anti-labor actions of the Trump administration. In Portland, a march organized by a coalition of unions, community and leftist political groups briefly stopped traffic on Forest Ave. as the crowd progressed from the University of Southern Maine through the city, culminating with a crowd of roughly 1,000 in Congress Square. Scott Adams, president of the American Postal Workers Union Local 458, addressed those gathered outside the post office. He said that President Donald Trump and billionaire advisor Elon Musk want to privatize the U.S. Postal Service. 'We will lose everything we won in the past if we don't fight in the present,' he said. Other speakers highlighted local labor fights. Stephen Bennett of the University of Maine Graduate Workers Union pointed out that they'd been negotiating their first contracts for more than 500 days. 'Why does the University of Maine System refuse to acknowledge that our work is valuable?' Bennett asked. Demonstrators make their way up Forest Avenue during a May Day march in Portland, Maine on Thursday, May 1, 2025. Starting at the University of Southern Maine campus, the pro-union, pro-Palestinian and anti-Trump protestors made stops at the city's main post office and Portland High School before rallying in Congress Square. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) May Day protestors gather in Portland, Maine's Congress Square on Thursday, May 1, 2025. A coalition of left wing organizations came together for the 1,000-person strong demonstration. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) May Day protestors gather in Portland, Maine's Congress Square on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) A woman waves a sign during a May Day march in Portland, Maine on Thursday, May 1, 2025. Starting at the University of Southern Maine campus, the pro-union, pro-Palestinian and anti-Trump protestors made stops at the city's main post office and Portland High School before rallying in Congress Square. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) May Day protestors gather in Portland, Maine's Congress Square on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) May Day protestors gather in Portland, Maine's Congress Square on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) May Day protestors gather in Portland, Maine's Congress Square on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) The graduate workers and their supporters, including the Maine Education Association and Eastern Maine Labor Council, also held a march and rally in Orono. Other events were organized in Bridgeton, Bath, Augusta, Waterville, Auburn and York. On Wednesday, national AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler participated in a listening session with Maine workers that have been impacted by the actions of the Trump administration, including a recent executive order that ended collective bargaining rights for federal unions. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
USDA ordered to unfreeze federal funding to Maine
Supporters march and wave signs after a rally in Cumberland, Maine on Sunday, March 23, 2025, calling on Maine lawmakers, and local MSAD51 school officials, to support transgender student athletes. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) A federal court has ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to restore funding to Maine, granting the state's request for a temporary restraining order. The ruling marks Maine's first legal victory against federal sanctions imposed over its policies on transgender athletes — policies the Trump administration argues violate Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education. At issue is Maine's decision to allow transgender athletes to participate in girls' sports, which the federal government claims is unlawful under its interpretation of Title IX. After the USDA froze the funds earlier this month, Attorney General Aaron Frey on Monday filed a complaint in U.S. District Court seeking to reinstate access to the money this Monday. Four days later, Justicedge John Woodcock Jr. granted the emergency request, finding that Maine had shown it would suffer 'irreparable harm' and that the USDA had failed to follow legally required procedures before halting the funding. In a statement after the ruling, Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said the order 'confirms the Trump Administration did not follow the rule of law when it cut program funds that go to feed school children and vulnerable adults.' 'No one in our constitutional republic is above the law and we will continue to fight to hold this administration to account,' Frey said. Unlike other federal agencies that opened civil rights investigations into Maine's policies, the USDA acted without launching a formal probe. On April 2, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins notified Governor Janet Mills that the department was freezing certain federal funds used for school administrative and technological functions. The move was based solely on the department's view that Maine was out of compliance with Title IX, according to Rollins' letter. The U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services had separately found Maine in violation of federal law after short investigations. But the state has pushed back, insisting that its trans-inclusive policies are consistent with both Title IX and legal precedent. In a letter sent earlier today to Bradley Burke, regional director of the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights, Assistant Attorney General Sarah Forster cited court rulings affirming the rights of transgender athletes. 'Nothing in Title IX or its implementing regulations prohibits schools from allowing transgender girls and women to participate on girls' and women's sports teams,' she wrote. 'Your letters to date do not cite a single case that so holds.' Judge Woodcock's ruling does not address the substance of the transgender athlete policy itself. Instead, it but focuses solely on the federal government's failure to follow due process. 'In ruling on the State's request, the Court is not weighing in on the merits of the controversy about transgender athletes that forms the backdrop of the impasse between the State and the Federal Defendants,' Woodcock wrote. 'The Federal Defendants froze the appropriated funds without observance of procedure required by law.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maine, Trump administration ‘at an impasse' after state refuses to comply with trans athlete policy
Supporters march and wave signs after a rally in Cumberland, Maine on Sunday, March 23, 2025, calling on Maine lawmakers, and local MSAD51 school officials, to support transgender student athletes. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) Maine will not be changing its policy on transgender athletes and thus is 'at an impasse' with the federal government, according to a letter from the Maine Attorney General's Office to the U.S. Department of Education Friday. The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights set Friday as the deadline for the Maine Department of Education to comply with a resolution agreement proposed last month that requires the state to comply with President Donald Trump's executive order banning trans girls from playing girls' sports. If the state does not comply, the administration has said it will refer the case to the Department of Justice and rescind federal funding. 'We will not sign the Resolution Agreement, and we do not have revisions to counter propose. We agree that we are at an impasse,' wrote Assistant Attorney General Sarah Forster in a letter to Bradley Burke, regional director for the agency's Office for Civil Rights. Further, Forster argued that Title IX, the federal law banning sex-based discrimination on which the Trump administration is basing its argument, does not legally preclude transgender inclusion in athletics. 'Nothing in Title IX or its implementing regulations prohibits schools from allowing transgender girls and women to participate on girls' and women's sports teams,' she said. Citing several federal court rulings — including a 2024 ruling in New Hampshire, Tirrell v. Edelblut — she added that 'various federal courts have held that Title IX and/or the Equal Protection Clause require schools to allow such participation.' Since Gov. Janet Mills and Trump got into a heated exchange over the state's trans athlete policy, legal experts have watched the case to see how the Trump administration would respond to the state-level pushback. 'We just need an answer at this point as to, 'Does the Trump administration have the authority to do what it's doing when it comes to fast tracking the removal of federal funds?'' said Jackie Wernz, a former lawyer for the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights who now represents school districts nationwide in these types of cases, in a previous interview with Maine Morning Star. 'This is just unprecedented, and we're not following the process that we're used to. So I think it's going to be really helpful for courts to start weighing in on whether or not they have the authority to do this.' While the U.S. Department of Education has not specified how much federal funding is at stake, it awarded $347 million to Maine entities in fiscal year 2024, according to the Maine Center for Economic Policy. Several federal agencies have launched investigations into Maine's alleged violation of Title IX. Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture froze funding to Maine school programs over alleged violations of federal law, over which the Maine Attorney General's Office has filed suit. In addition to the Title IX investigations, numerous other federal agencies have cut funding to programs in Maine in apparent retaliation for the state's noncompliance. Earlier this week, the Department of Justice terminated several grants to the Maine Department of Corrections because of the state policy related to transgender detainees, which it approaches on a case-by-case basis. And the former acting director of the Social Security Administration admitted he deliberately sought to punish Maine by temporarily suspending the 'Enumeration at Birth' process, which allows parents to check a box on a form shortly after a child's birth in order to receive a mailed Social Security card. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
