Washington Post staffers launch 24-hour walkout

More than 700 staffers at The Washington Post launched a 24-hour walkout Thursday after contract negotiations with the newspaper's leadership have stalled after 18 months.

Reporters, producers, editors and business-side staffers walked off the job and began picketing outside the Post’s enigmatic downtown headquarters in the first protest action at the paper since the mid-1970s.

The Washington Post Guild, a member of the broader Washington-Baltimore NewsGuild, is accusing management of negotiating in “bad faith” as they seek to obtain a contract that they say must address pay disparities and offer employees raises and job protections as layoffs loom at the struggling storied paper.

“We still lack a contract that keeps pace with record-level inflation and guarantees workers a living wage,” the union posted in a statement online, blaming previous leadership at the Post for the company’s current financial woes.

A spokesperson for the Post said in a statement to POLITICO that "we respect the rights of our Guild-covered colleagues to engage in this planned one-day strike" and "will make sure our readers and customers are as unaffected as possible."

"The Post’s goal remains the same as it has 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 spokesperson continued.

In a video posted ahead of the walkout, Post staffers also called on the public to not cross the picket line, urging readers not to engage with content on the Post’s website and for freelancers to ignore assignment offers.

The walkout comes as Post leadership seeks to rectify a $100 million shortfall, floating the possibility of buyouts or layoffs at the paper in order to bridge the gap. Incoming CEO Will Lewis, a Dow Jones veteran, has been tasked by the paper’s owners to turn the tide of declining readerships and subscriptions amid rising costs.

Over the past year, the Post has laid off almost 40 employees, according to the Guild. Acting CEO Patty Stonesifer said that the Post would offer 240 voluntary buyouts for Post employees in October, but only 120 have taken the buyouts thus far. In November, Stonesifer said that "involuntary buyouts" could follow if the buyouts target is not met.

It is not the first strike action at a major news outlet in the past year. Staffers at digital outlet Insider staged a 13-day walkout, the longest in the history of digital media, in June.

Employees at the New York Times have also gone on strike twice in the last year. Employees staged a company-wide one-day walk out on Dec. 7, 2022 and tech workers staged a half-day walkout in October to protest an order to return to the office.

The NewsGuild, an affiliate of the Communications Workers of America, represents journalists from media outlets including POLITICO.