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May 14, 2008

Newspaper union agrees to new contract

After more than two years without a contract, union members at the Morning Sentinel, a daily newspaper in Waterville, yesterday ratified a tentative contract with the paper's owner, Blethen Maine Newspapers.

The Waterville unit of the Portland Newspaper Guild, which includes 22 Morning Sentinel staffers, approved the contract by 76%, according to a press release from the union. The unit's last contract expired in January 2006. The new contract expires in January 2009. On April 18, the paper's management said they would terminate its collective bargaining agreement with the union unless members agreed to its contract offer.

The new contract includes a 5% wage increase and preserves Blethen's right to transfer Morning Sentinel staffers to the Kennebec Journal "for legitimate business needs," the release said. The unit expects to sign the deal by the end of the month.

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