CNN
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A whole lot of staffers at The Washington Publish are set to strike for twenty-four hours on Thursday, protesting just lately introduced cuts to the newspaper’s workforce and making use of strain on administration to achieve an settlement on a brand new union contract.
“Taking this historic motion will not be a call we got here to frivolously,” The Washington Publish Guild mentioned in a letter to readers. “We take severely the impression it’ll have on the folks, points and communities we cowl.”
A protest of such magnitude has not been staged at The Publish because the Nineteen Seventies, based on the union, signaling how pissed off members are with the state of affairs on the Jeff Bezos-owned newspaper.
The union, which represents roughly 1,000 workers at The Publish, has been negotiating a brand new contract with executives for 18 months, however it has but to reach at an settlement, a lot to the dismay of members who’ve expressed important frustration with administration over the method.
A spokesperson for The Publish mentioned in a press release that the newspaper respects the precise of its workers to strike.
“We’ll be certain that our readers and clients are as unaffected as potential,” the spokesperson mentioned. “The Publish’s purpose stays the identical because it has from the beginning of our negotiations: to achieve an settlement with the Guild that meets the wants of our workers and the wants of our enterprise.”
The labor dispute comes as The Publish struggles financially, with the paper on observe to lose roughly $100 million this yr. To that finish, The Publish’s administration staff has moved to chop prices, asserting in October that it goals to slash its workforce by 10% via voluntary buyouts.
Patty Stonesifer, The Publish’s interim chief govt, disclosed to workers when asserting the buyouts that the corporate had “overshot on bills” and that administration wanted to “proper dimension” the enterprise.
Final week, Stonesifer warned workers that if 240 folks don’t volunteer for the buyout supply, layoffs would ensue. Stonesifer mentioned in a gathering this week that 175 workers had to date taken the buyout presents forward of subsequent week’s deadline.
Staffers at The Publish have balked on the want for cuts, typically mentioning that the newspaper is owned by Bezos, one of many richest males on the earth. Bezos has confused that he desires The Publish to be financially solvent.
In the course of the 24-hour work stoppage, The Guild has inspired readers to keep away from studying or sharing The Publish’s editorial content material.
“On Dec. 7, we ask you to respect our walkout by not crossing the picket line: For twenty-four hours, please don’t have interaction with any Washington Publish content material,” the Guild mentioned. “That features our print and on-line information tales, podcasts, movies, video games and recipes.”
In the meantime, administration is working to make sure that The Publish continues to ship information to its readers in the course of the strike. The newspaper will seemingly depend on its editors, who aren’t members of the union, to creator tales.
The Publish is way from the one information establishment engaged in a labor dispute with its workers. Unionized staffers at Condé Nast have been protesting layoffs on the publishing firm.
And final yr, staffers at The New York Occasions staged their very own 24-hour strike whereas negotiating for a union contract.
