More than 400 Washington Post staffers wrote an open letter to Jeff Bezos calling out his 'shocking' pay practices

Getty/Chip Somodevilla

Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post.

• More than 400 Washington Post employees addressed an open letter to owner Jeff Bezos.
• They signed a petition calling for fair pay, benefits, and job security, decrying "shocking" current practices.
• They also released a video, which they uploaded to YouTube addressing Amazon CEO Bezos directly.

More than 400 Washington Post employees have signed an open letter to Jeff Bezos asking him to treat them fairly.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post in 2014, and the petition states that unionised staff under the Washington Post Guild are "extremely grateful" that Bezos stepped in when he did. Employees are now campaigning for better pay, benefits, and job security.

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

They released a video alongside the petition, which you can watch below:

In the video, the employees state that more than a year ago the Guild's bargaining committee entered into negotiations with the Post.

Although they managed to secure some benefits - including the right to ask for pay review based on the possibility of gender or minority-based pay disparity - they said they were met with a "profound unwillingness by the Post's top management to meet us half-way on a lot of the issues that are important to us."

Specifically mentioned in the petition were pay increases of $10 a week, which workers said is less than half the current rate of inflation. They said it is "unfair and even shocking from someone who believes democracy dies in darkness."

Also mentioned is a refusal to improve retirement benefits, cutting severance pay, and Post demands that laid-off employees waive their legal rights to receive severance payments.

Business Insider has contacted the Washington Post Guild and the Washington Post for comment.