WaPo staff walk off the job as the outlet hemorrhages money, lays off employees

Over 750 Washington Post employees launched a 24-hour strike Thursday in one of the largest labor protests in decades.

The Post is anticipating a loss of around $100 million in 2023, two individuals familiar with the Post’s finances told The New York Times in July, and the outlet plans to eliminate roughly 240 jobs. Its staff has struggled to achieve its objectives in negotiations with management on pay, flexibility, mental health, and layoffs, according to a Tuesday letter about the strike by The Washington Post Newspaper Guild.

Our 24-hour strike has begun.

For the first time in 50 years, @washingtonpost workers are walking off the job because our company is refusing to bargain in good faith and breaking the law. pic.twitter.com/f9dqR0XXjD

— Washington Post Guild (@PostGuild) December 7, 2023

“Management has refused to bargain in good faith and repeatedly — and illegally — shut down negotiations over key issues, such as pay equity, raises that keep pace with inflation and our competitors, remote work policies, mental health supports, and a buyout package that seeks to reduce our workforce by 10 percent,” The Washington Post Newspaper Guild wrote in the letter.

Executives at the Post reject the union’s assertion that the negotiations have not been in “good faith” and want to strike a deal by the end of December, according to the Post. The union wants a minimum salary of over $100,000 for reporters, while the Post’s most recent offer is under $73,000.

“We respect the rights of our Guild-covered colleagues to engage in this planned one-day strike,” a spokesperson for the Post stated. “We will make sure our readers and customers are as unaffected as possible.”

The Post has struggled to expand its paid customer base since the 2020 election when it reached a pinnacle of 3 million digital subscriptions compared to about 2.5 million as of July, two other individuals told the NYT.

“This is a declaration by hundreds of Washington Post staffers saying that if the company is to work with us fairly, it has to respect its employees,” steward for The Washington Post Newspaper Guild and climate reporter for the Post Sarah Kaplan stated. “I know they will still try to get a paper out … But they can’t get a good paper out without us.”

The Washington Post Newspaper Guild and the Post did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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