The Washingtonian magazine staff union has unanimously voted in favor of a one-day strike after five years of ongoing contract negotiations with management.
A strike date has yet to be announced but will be in response to stagnant negotiations “over management’s refusal to agree to a reasonable pay floor for employees and over a remote work policy,” according to a Thursday press release from the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, which organizes the Washingtonian Guild.
In a statement to The Washington Sun, Washingtonian CEO Cathy Merrill said, “The Guild represents 16 Washingtonian employees. We respect their right to make their voices heard through this one-day action, and we will continue to bargain in good faith to secure Washingtonian’s future in an industry, print media, that remains very challenging.”
The union has proposed a base salary of $60,000, and management offered $42,500, the news guild’s press release said.
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“It’s really hard on all of us to have this constant turnover of young, promising staffers,” said Andrew Beaujon, a Washingtonian media reporter of over a decade. “We want to just continue to put out a great publication.”
The union also held a one-day strike in 2021. Jessica Sidman, a food editor who’s been at the Washingtonian for a decade, said this strike would be “more like a last resort, but we’re hoping that it will have the same power it had last time.”
Both Washingtonian staff members told The Sun that some employees have left the magazine, taken second jobs or relied on family to supplement their income. The Washingtonian has no existing pay floor or explicit remote work policy, they said.
“Washingtonian has bargained in good faith with the Guild for several years, and we have reached agreement on many points of a future contract,” Merrill said in the statement. “Real differences remain on many issues, large and small, including wages, hours and management rights.”
The Washington Sun partners with the Washingtonian to distribute a limited-run magazine.
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