After 18-Month Battle, WaPo Union Wins Tentative Deal With Bezos-Owned Paper

A mobilization by unionized Washington Post staffers that included a historic 24-hour strike helped push the newspaper to offer what the union described as "the best contract [it] has won in half a century" on Friday as it announced a tentative agreement with management.

The Washington Post Guild, which represents about 1,000 editorial, advertising, and non-newsroom workers, celebrated the breakthrough after 18 months of tumultuous negotiations, which pushed the union to hold a one-day work stoppage earlier this month.

Management had "refused to bargain in good faith and repeatedly—and illegally—shut down negotiations over key issues," the Post Guild said at the time, but executives were forced to reopen talks on Friday after an outpouring of support for staffers from the public and another action this week by staffers who plastered the newsroom's walls with readers' demands for a "fair deal."

"Though The Post spent the past few weeks insisting they had no further movement for us, our members' tireless organizing, and the public's outpouring of support, forced company leaders back to the table today," said the Post Guild.

The tentative deal reached on Friday includes an immediate $30 per week raise for all union employees, to be combined with a 2.5% raise that will go into effect in April and two 2% raises in 2025 and 2026. The salary floods for the lowest-paid union members will be nearly doubled by the three-year contract, according to the union.

The Post—which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, currently the third-richest person in the world with a net worth of $175.9 billion—will also be required under the contract to give members a 60-day notice if management changes the current hybrid work schedule, and anyone who has taken the newspaper's recent buyout offer will receive a $500 bonus.

"The historic wins in this tentative agreement came as a result of relentless advocacy from hundreds of Guild members, who fought hard for contract guarantees that reflect our values: fair pay, a safer and more equitable workplace, and fundamental job protections for all," said the union. "We look forward to putting this historic deal to a vote. Thank you to all who helped us get here. Solidarity forever."

As it had prepared for its 24-hour strike on Dec. 7, the Guild decried layoffs of nearly 40 people in 2023 as well as offers for "voluntary buyouts" for 240 other staffers.

The Post is still aiming to shrink its workforce by about 10% by offering more buyouts.

The bargaining committee representing staffers said the new contract "will position our union to continue making The Post a better workplace in the next three years and beyond."

"Though it does not include everything we hoped to achieve, the bargaining committee supports ratifying this agreement," said the union.