By Adam Pagnucco.
Last Thursday, employees of the Washington Post followed through on their threat to launch a one-day strike. According to a Post article with no byline, more than 750 workers walked out, more than a quarter of the Post’s staff. The tweets below were among those posted by union supporters. Note that one of them came from Nicole Asbury, who has done critically important work on MCPS’s sexual harassment scandal.
Ashley Parker, senior national political correspondent.
Sarah Kaplan, climate reporter.
It’s a beautiful day to STRIKE with @PostGuild!!!! pic.twitter.com/l2UNq6pnUn
— Sarah Kaplan (@sarahkaplan48) December 7, 2023
Fenit Nirappil, public health reporter.
Lori Aratani, transportation reporter.
Nicole Asbury, Maryland schools and education reporter.
The Post and the Post Guild have been bargaining a new contract for 18 months and are far apart on terms. The Post Guild has tweeted the union’s most recent proposal and the newspaper’s offer on four areas as shown below.
Raises
Post Guild proposal: $210 per week, 4% a year for three years.
Post offer: $21 per week, 2.25% the first year of the contract, 2% the second and third year.
Pay Equity
Post Guild proposal: Pay equity review results within 45 days, pay correction within 3 months if disparity is found.
Post offer: Pay equity review within 60 days, no obligation to correct pay if disparity found.
Remote Work
Post Guild proposal: Maintain current hybrid arrangement, 4 weeks work from anywhere.
Post offer: No hybrid guarantees, Post has absolute power to demand full time return to office at any time.
Mental Health
Post Guild proposal: “The Post shall not substantively reduce the mental health support or services offered as of the signing of this agreement without negotiation with the Guild.”
Post offer: No mental health guarantees.
This is the first strike at the Post since 1975-76, and that one did not have a happy ending. Shortly after their contract expired, the Post’s pressmen vandalized the paper’s printing presses and walked out. After two months of fruitless negotiations, the Post hired replacement workers and broke the union. Ironically, one of the reasons why the pressmen’s strike failed is that the Post Guild did not support it.
Management seems determined to downsize one way or another and has declared its intention to cut Metro staff by a quarter. Whether it reaches a new contract with the Post Guild or not, the end result will apparently be less local coverage from the Washington Post.