The Washington Post and its union, the Washington Post Guild, have agreed on the framework for a new contract, which the Guild calls “without question the best contract the Post Guild has won in half a century” in an email to members Friday.
A Post spokesperson confirmed the tentative agreement and sent along a statement that reads in part: “It has always been our goal to reach an agreement that addresses the needs of our employees and our business. We are confident this contract provides both and appreciate the efforts of all who have worked to make this happen. We are hopeful the contract will be ratified next week.”
Among the wins the union touts: All Guild members will receive a $30 per week pay increase in 2024’s first pay period, and scheduled automatic raises each April 1 for the next three years. Anyone taking the paper’s recent buyout offer will receive a $500 bonus if the contract is signed, and the Post agreed to give members a 60-day notice if it wants to change the current hybrid work agreement, which calls for three days in the office each week.
The Post’s unionized staff, which represents about 70 percent of the company, has been working without a contract since July. Negotiations for this contract have been going on for 18 months, and after the company submitted what it called its “last, best and final” offer, the union called a one-day strike on December 7. (The company nevertheless later moved on some points, the Guild says.)
It’s been a rough autumn at the Post, which announced in October that it planned to reduce its staff by 240 people. It offered voluntary buyouts but threatened layoffs if enough people didn’t put their hands up. In the end, the union says, more people than expected offered to leave.
In recent days, the Guild has organized a letter-writing campaign to the publication’s incoming CEO, William Lewis (who will apparently arrive with some interesting baggage); has brought 100 people to Wednesday morning’s news meeting; and put up signs that read “FAIR DEAL” on the offices of Post attorney Jay Kennedy and interim CEO Patty Stonesifer.
Guild members will vote next week on whether to accept the agreement.
Disclosure: Washingtonian’s editorial staff, like the Post Guild, is represented by the Washington-Baltimore News Guild.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
