• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, December 25, 2023

The Washington Post and the union representing 70% of its employees have reached a tentative three-year agreement after 18 months of sometimes rancorous talks and a one-day strike at the publication earlier this month. 

The Washington Post Guild said on X that the deal is “the best contract Washington Post employees have seen in 50 years.”

Union employees reportedly will receive a $30-per-week increase during the first pay period in 2024, with automatic raises to follow each April for three years. 

For its part, the Post says, “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.”

But the Guild characterized it this way in an email to the staff, according to The New York Times: “After 18 months of negotiating — months in which Guild members gave moving testimonies at the bargaining table, signed petitions, attended pickets, lunched out for fair pay and pulled off the biggest work stoppage at The Washington Post in nearly 50 years — the company has finally agreed to a deal.”

The Post recently offered buyouts in an effort to reduce its headcount by 240 people, roughly 9.6% of its total staff. 

The new agreement includes an incentive for those taking the buyouts: a $500 bonus, The Washingtonianreports. 

The contract must still be ratified by Guild members.  

On Dec. 7, union staffers conducted a one-day strike to protest what they said were layoffs and the failure by the Post to bargain in good faith in the contract talks.  

Meanwhile, the title owned by Jeff Bezos reportedly is facing a $100 million loss this year. 

“The urgent need to invest in our top growth priorities brought us to the difficult conclusion that we need to adjust our cost structure now,” interim CEO Patty Stonesifer wrote in an email to the staff in October, the Post reported.

Stonesifer also blamed overly optimistic projections for subscription, traffic and advertising revenue over the past two years.