March 10, 2004

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It’s a good time to look back to try to understand why the Washington Post docks the pay of some workers when extreme weather conditions keep them from a punctual arrival at work, while others can take accumulated leave. Why some get a ride in, and others get short-changed in the pocket book.

In late January and early February, the whole northeastern seaboard was hit with day after day of ice and snowstorms, closing or delaying the metro system, and making side streets dangerous. As The Post reported on Jan. 27, 2004, “The Washington area awoke this morning to freezing rain, mist, bitter temperatures, treacherous roads, big delays on Metrorail and, inevitably, closed school systems, not to mention forecasts from the National Weather Service of more to come in what’s beginning to feel like an endless winter.”

But some Post employees arriving finally at work during stormy weather—most notably in Circulation—were told they could not take vacation time, or any other paid leave, and could not make the time up. Their pay must be docked.

For many, this was the first they’d heard about what appears to be a new inclement weather policy, replacing the usual policy at The Post—in snow or ice emergencies, employees are to come in if they can get in safely. If they cannot get in, they can use vacation. So, because of severe weather that stopped the metro area in its tracks (literally) some Post employees were penalized with a pay cut. There was no notice of this change. Several days after the snow emergency, one department did put out a policy on inclement weather. Perhaps release of that memo was delayed due to foul weather.

Rough as the Scrooge policy seems to be, it’s made even worse because it doesn’t apply to all Post employees. Some departments permit vacation leave to be used for weather emergencies, and some managers even give employees a lift into work. In some departments the policy is clearly spelled out, while in others there has been no information given to employees at all. They struggle in to work to find docked pay.

Rough, because even within departments on the commercial side, some employees were allowed to use accumulated leave, and others had no such option. Rough because no work rule is fair if it’s enforced at the whim of management, and no work rule is fair if employees haven’t been told about it. It would be ludicrous to assume that workers could predict a change in previous practice by their managers.

We have no argument with expecting people to be at work. We do have an argument when The Post cannot put itself in their employees’ boots and appreciate the cold hard reality that it isn’t always possible to get to work. And that Circulation faces the same weather conditions as the rest of The Post.

A leading employer like The Washington Post can do better than this. The adoption of a “share a ride” system, and a clear written policy that any employee who cannot get to work on time in a weather emergency can use accumulated leave—these are reasonable options for fair treatment in foul weather of the workers who actually make The Post. The Guild will be meeting with The Post to explore ways to be fair to all employees in those inevitable weather emergencies ahead.

-- Darlene Meyer
Guild Co-Chair

Lynn Sulyma
Circulation Department Steward

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