Washington Luddites

Huge sheets of paper hung in shreds from the presses, and black printer's ink trickled from torn tubing. Wires had been ripped from control boxes, and vital parts from many of the paper's nine presses had vanished. For the second time in two years, striking pressmen had shut down the Washington Post (circ. 550,000). But seldom in newspaper history had workers visited such Luddite violence on their presses.

The printers' night of rage came hours after their contract expired and talks on a new one were adjourned. Behind the outburst were years of festering antagonism and fear. The paper, faced with shrinking profits, has long wanted to limit overtime and cut production costs through automation. The pressmen are uneasy about the demise of old "hot metal" printing systems and the rise of new photographic printing technology, requiring fewer workers. Their median age is around 40, and they earn an average of $15,000 a year plus $8,000 in overtime, but see change as a threat to their jobs. Accusing the Post of stalling, pressmen's union Local 6 President John A. Dugan said of the sabotage: "Anything that was done in there was born of frustration. The Post hasn't shown any interest in serious bargaining."

Editorial Airlift. The printers' comrades in the Newspaper Guild voted overwhelmingly against supporting the strike. About three-quarters of the paper's 650 or so editorial and commercial employees showed up the day after the violence and put together an edition. Post officials, who say it may be days or even weeks before their own presses can be repaired, arranged to have copy helicoptered from the roof of the building, out of reach of angry pickets, to six other printing plants as far as 150 miles away. The next morning's Post, slimmed down to 28 pages, appeared on schedule. Neither side in the dispute was predicting an early settlement, and it looked as if the Post's airlift would be a familiar scene on the capital skyline for at least a few more days.

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