Washington Post journalists go on 1-day strike
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The strike is the first walkout at the Post since the 1970s.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON – About 700 Washington Post employees walked off the job for 24 hours on Dec 7, protesting against stalled union contract negotiations and expected layoffs.
The strike was the first walkout at the Post since the 1970s, union leaders said, and comes as the publication grapples with stagnant subscription numbers and low morale.
The union, the Post Guild, said that it had been negotiating a contract for 18 months but that the newspaper’s management had “refused to bargain in good faith” and had shut down negotiations over key issues.
The union represents more than 1,000 employees, including journalists and some people on the company’s business side.
In a statement, a Post spokesperson said the company respected the right of its union members to go on strike.
“We will make sure our readers and customers are as unaffected as possible,” the spokesperson said.
“The Post’s goal remains the same as it has been from the start of our negotiations: to reach an agreement with the Guild that meets the needs of our employees and the needs of our business.”
The Post, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has struggled in the post-Trump era to gain paying online readers.
Subscriptions dropped to about 2.5 million in 2023 from a peak of three million in 2020. Earlier in 2023, the Post was on pace to lose US$100 million (S$134 million) this year, according to people with knowledge of the company’s finances.
In October, the newspaper’s interim chief executive, Ms Patty Stonesifer, announced that the company would cut 240 jobs from its 2,600-strong workforce. She replaced Mr Fred Ryan, who stepped down as chief executive in June.
The 240 jobs were initially expected to come through voluntary buyouts, but Ms Stonesifer told workers in November that layoffs might be needed to reach that number.
In early November, the Post named Mr Will Lewis, a former publisher of The Wall Street Journal, as its next CEO and publisher.
Ms Sarah Kaplan, a climate reporter and chief steward of the Post Guild, said in an interview that one sticking point over the new contract was wages.
The Post has proposed a 2.25 per cent increase, which Ms Kaplan said amounted to “a pay cut” when taking inflation into account. NYTIMES
