Post Workers Win Buyout Gains

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
Negotiators for the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild won improved buyouts for Washington Post employees, report Rick Weiss and Allan Lengel on the Guild website. Buyout improvements and eligibility have become major issues as Post managers have been pushing workers to take the buyouts - which are voluntary -- or risk an "unsavory job change," the Guild reports. "Guild negotiators pressed hard to rectify the grossly unfair eligibility rules proposed by The Post," which would have restricted buyout eligibility in some Post departments, report Weiss and Lengel. The Guild also won retiree health insurance eligibility for part-time workers in the news and commercial departments, pension increases and free financial and health insurance counseling for workers who take the buyout, Weiss and Lengel report.