Maui businesses fighting for local journalism

Workers at The Maui News are sending a strong message to its Mainland owners: It’s time to agree to a fair contract. 

Union workers at The Maui News have been without a contract for more than three years, and many have gone for decades without a pay increase. In negotiations this spring, the union submitted proposals that protect union work and secure raises

Yet representatives from Ogden Newspapers continue to prioritize union-busting pet projects rather than focus on the real issues affecting workers and local management alike at the only daily newspaper in Maui County.

Ogden Newspapers, the West Virginia company that owns The Maui News, is proposing language that would allow the paper sweeping authority to eliminate union work and outsource jobs to the Mainland.

They are also proposing rolling back additional language that protects workers from erratic schedules. These protections are critical as staffing has become dangerously low while Ogden Newspapers refuses to invest in the paper.

Meanwhile, National Labor Relations Board agents have twice found that Ogden Newspapers violated federal labor law since September.

Ogden Newspapers must stop spending thousands of dollars on stalling tactics that threaten the livelihood of workers at the paper.

Union members at The Maui News have been fighting for this newspaper and this community for decades. We believe Maui County deserves a strong local newspaper. It’s time for the company to invest in The Maui News and the community.

You can help union workers at The Maui News. Please contact us at guild37082@gmail.com or staff@mediaworkers.org for a sign you can place in your window.