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Washington Post Employees Rally for Fairness, Respect on the Job: Union's Message: Leave No Worker B
Washington, D.C. -- Employees of the Washington Post and their supporters throughout the community – along with "Ned the News Dog" -- greeted shareholders arriving for the annual meeting of the Washington Post Co., today at the newspaper's headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Their message: the Washington Post has been a poor citizen of the community, and that hurts employees, readers, shareholders and the community that depends on the service employees provide.
An early morning rally brought mailers, utility mailers, helpers and newsroom and commercial employees – all members of the Communications Workers of America -- out to raise their call for fair treatment. They were joined by Rev. Graylan Hagler, Senior Minister at Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, National President of Ministers for Racial, Social, and Economic Justice, and a leader in the fight to win support for workers fighting for union rights.
Other speakers included CWA District 2 Vice President Pete Catucci and TNG-CWA Sec.-Treas. Bernie Lunzer, and representatives from the mailers and Guild employees at the Post. Supporters from Jobs with Justice, United Students Against Sweatshops and other groups also joined the rally.
The Washington Post goes into its annual meeting posting a 16 percent increase in revenue for 2004 over the previous year. Union members want shareholders to know that management's efforts to contract out work, shift health care costs and lag on diversity concerns could have a negative effect on the newspaper's operations, as well as on employees and the community.
The contract covering more than 1,200 newsroom and commercial employees, represented by The Newspaper Guild-CWA, expires in November. According to Guild representative Rick Ehrmann, the "No Worker Left Behind" theme "expresses the Guild's goal of achieving fairness for all Post employees – a fair increase, fair merit and incentive pay systems, an end to contracting out our jobs, and for equity, dignity and respect for all Post employees."
About 400 CWA-represented mailers, helpers and utility mailers have been in a tough fight for a fair contract and against the Post's unfair treatment of about 120 utility mailers, who make about half as much as journeymen mailers for performing the same work. Workers have gone more than six years without a real wage increase and management doesn't seem to want to change that pattern, said Hunter Phillips of CWA's Printing Sector.
"Two years after our current contract expired, the Post's contract demands reflect the disrespect that management has for mailroom workers. It won't discuss equal pay for equal work, it won't consider real wage increases without workers trading off their retirement security, and it continues to raise health care costs paid by union workers at a higher rate than for non-union employees," Phillips said.
For more information, go to www.wbng.org and www.washingtonpostunfair.com
Their message: the Washington Post has been a poor citizen of the community, and that hurts employees, readers, shareholders and the community that depends on the service employees provide.
An early morning rally brought mailers, utility mailers, helpers and newsroom and commercial employees – all members of the Communications Workers of America -- out to raise their call for fair treatment. They were joined by Rev. Graylan Hagler, Senior Minister at Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, National President of Ministers for Racial, Social, and Economic Justice, and a leader in the fight to win support for workers fighting for union rights.
Other speakers included CWA District 2 Vice President Pete Catucci and TNG-CWA Sec.-Treas. Bernie Lunzer, and representatives from the mailers and Guild employees at the Post. Supporters from Jobs with Justice, United Students Against Sweatshops and other groups also joined the rally.
The Washington Post goes into its annual meeting posting a 16 percent increase in revenue for 2004 over the previous year. Union members want shareholders to know that management's efforts to contract out work, shift health care costs and lag on diversity concerns could have a negative effect on the newspaper's operations, as well as on employees and the community.
The contract covering more than 1,200 newsroom and commercial employees, represented by The Newspaper Guild-CWA, expires in November. According to Guild representative Rick Ehrmann, the "No Worker Left Behind" theme "expresses the Guild's goal of achieving fairness for all Post employees – a fair increase, fair merit and incentive pay systems, an end to contracting out our jobs, and for equity, dignity and respect for all Post employees."
About 400 CWA-represented mailers, helpers and utility mailers have been in a tough fight for a fair contract and against the Post's unfair treatment of about 120 utility mailers, who make about half as much as journeymen mailers for performing the same work. Workers have gone more than six years without a real wage increase and management doesn't seem to want to change that pattern, said Hunter Phillips of CWA's Printing Sector.
"Two years after our current contract expired, the Post's contract demands reflect the disrespect that management has for mailroom workers. It won't discuss equal pay for equal work, it won't consider real wage increases without workers trading off their retirement security, and it continues to raise health care costs paid by union workers at a higher rate than for non-union employees," Phillips said.
For more information, go to www.wbng.org and www.washingtonpostunfair.com