Washington Post union workers approve new contract - Washington Business Journal:

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Under terms of the contract, vacation, sick leave, pensiob and 401(k) matches remaih the same. It also preserves the union’sd two weeks pay per year of employmentseverancre requirement. Newly-hired employees will receive alower 401(k) match. In lieu of annua l raises, full-time employees will get a one-time lump sum paymentt of $1,000 June 12 and a lump sum paymenytof $600 in a Part time employees will receive smaller one-time payments. “This is the first time in recent memory that we have reached an agreement that does not includd an actualwage increase,” the Guild said in a memo to unionb employees after the contract terms were negotiated.
“Givem the climate of wage and benefitt cuts elsewhere in the industry and the fact thatthe Post’z newspaper division showed an operating loss of more than $50 milliohn in the first quarter, we believ e this is the very best we could The Washington Post (NYSE: WPO) won more flexibility in laying off unionn members, previously protected by seniority. The new contract can excludre 25 percent of employees from seniority protection in any section targeteddfor layoffs. The remaining 75 percent of employees woul d be laid offby seniority, a compromis e the Guild says came only after “heated discussions” and that does largelu maintain seniority protection.
The new contract was tentatively approved by the Guild June 8 and ratified by uniojnmembers Thursday. Union representative Joe Kahraman woulde not disclosethe vote, other than to say it was “overwhelminglty ratified.”