More than 400 employees of The Washington Post have signed on to a public letter to owner Jeff Bezos asking him to remedy working conditions at the newspaper, after more than a year of unsuccessful negotiation with upper management.



'All we are asking for is fairness for each and every employee who contributed to this company’s success: fair wages; fair benefits for retirement, family leave and health care; and a fair amount of job security,' the petition read.

'More than 400 of our colleagues have signed this petition, and they're just asking you to listen,' Global Opinions editor Karen Attiah said in the video that accompanied the written petition.

The petition was shared on Twitter by the Post Guild on Thursday, which was one day after Bezos tweeted about Thursday being the one year anniversary of him asking his social media following for ideas for philanthropy.

Bezos, who is also the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Amazon, could not immediately be reached for comment on the petition.

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More than 400 employees of The Washington Post have signed on to a public letter to owner Jeff Bezos asking him to remedy working conditions at the newspaper, after more than a year of unsuccessful negotiation with upper management

The petition was shared on Twitter by the Post Guild on Thursday, which was one day after Bezos tweeted about Thursday being the one year anniversary of him asking his social media following for ideas for philanthropy

'More than one year ago, the Guild's bargaining committee entered into negotiations with the Post, hoping to achieve some of the benefits for our members and share in the success that we've had for the past year,' Freddy Kunkle, Metro reporter and co-chair of the Guild at the Washington Post, said in the video.

The petition noted that within the last year,'the Post has doubled the number of digital subscriptions and increased its online traffic by more than half,' along with meeting or exceeding its advertising team's targets.

But the Post's employees say they haven't reaped the benefits of this progres.

'What we've found instead is a profound unwillingness by the Post's top management to meet us halfway on a lot of the issues that are important to us,' Kunkle said.

The video first highlighted what members of the Washington Post's union had been successful in achieving over the past year.

'We've won the right to ask for a pay review based on the possibility of gender or minority-based pay disparity, and we've also won the right to have spouses who both work at the Post take paid family leave.

But then, the clip turned to where negotiations had broken down.

'We've been met with unyielding resistance on almost every other issue important to us, and we've only basically managed to keep the worst things from happening,' Kunkle said.

At this point, a montage of the staff members featured at the top of video came together to spell out what's been missing from the work environment at the Post.

The message addressed to Jeff Bezos (right) asked readers and viewers to share it, if in agreement, using the hashtags #DearJeffBezos (seen at left) and #OneYearLater

Freddy Kunkle, Metro reporter and co-chair of the Guild at the Washington Post, appeared prominently in the video, making the case for deserved better conditions at the Post

'I'm fighting for a decent raise because I believe everyone who has contributed to the Post's success deserves a share in it,' the list began.

'I'm fighting for equal pay, because regardless of gender or skin color, we all deserve to be paid the same for equal work; I'm fighting for better retirement benefits and a better 401(k) match, because while I love working at the Washington Post, I would, one day, like to be able to retire from it; I'm fighting to retain some amount of job security, because as I'm investing my time in the Post, I hope that the Washington Post is also investing in me; I'm fighting for a decent severance package that won't require me to give up my legal rights.'

To round out the pleas for better working conditions, Attiah said, 'Our stories aren't unique, Mr. Bezos.'

'More than 400 of our colleagues have signed this petition, and they're just asking you to listen,' Global Opinions editor Karen Attiah said in the video shared with the petition

The text of the petition backed up what the people appearing in the video said, highlighting specific occurrences at the Post that prompted the requests the staff were making on camera.

'Offering $10 a week in pay increases – or about 0.6 percent of the median salary and less than half the current rate of inflation – is unfair and even shocking from someone who believes democracy dies in darkness,' the petition read.

'Refusing to improve retirement benefits is unfair, particularly since you froze the traditional pension. The current retirement plans, including a 1 percent match on our 401(k), suggest that you place little value in your employees’ future financial security.'

A montage of the staff members featured at the top of video came together to spell out what's been missing from the work environment at the Post

The text of the petition backed up what the people appearing in the video said, highlighting specific occurrences at the Post that prompted the requests the staff were making on camera

The petition also called out an environment that might facilitate ageism and racism.

'Pushing for the right to indiscriminately lay off anyone is unfair – and a recipe for future discrimination against older employees and minorities,' it read.

The petition also cited activity related to those who have already lost their jobs and been laid off as problematic.

'Further cutting severance for people who face layoffs or whose job has been outsourced is unfair, particularly since management has already won the right to drastically cut severance for people who are let go for cause,' the petition read.

'Demanding that laid-off employees waive their legal rights to receive severance payments is an extreme demand and an ominous one – particularly in light of the Post’s mixed record on fair treatment for women, racial minorities and older employees.'

The drafters of the petition closed it with a plea to Bezos to share the wealth.

'The Post is not just any business venture. But even if it were – this would not be the way to show that you value your employees,' the petition read.

'Please show the world that you not only can lead the way in creating wealth, but that you also know how to share it with the people who helped you create it.'

The message asked readers and viewers to share it, if in agreement, using the hashtags #DearJeffBezos and #OneYearLater.

Bezos bought the Washington Post for $250 million in October 2013, through his private investment company, Nash Holdings.

The drafters of the petition closed it with a plea to Bezos to share the wealth, and for readers and viewers to share their message

The petition signed by more than 400 Washington Post employees is shown here