The staff at Damascus Dispatch are back to work after just one week of picketing. Their complaints? Long hours, low pay, unjustified suspensions and lack of coffee in the office. So, what ended the Damascus Dispatch Writers Strike? Tough negotiations on the part of the writers union. Union boss Dilford Schlage went to the mattresses for his coworkers and negotiated a 2% hourly rate increase. He also managed to reduce weekly working hours by 10% as well as force the company to provide employees with an assortment of Keurig K-Cups between nine and noon. The union also demanded that Dilford Schlage’s personnel record be expunged of any reference to his “digital blackface” offence.
Writers for the extremely popular website were almost elated to be returning to work. Field correspondent, Tim Tinker, summed up his feelings in this statement: “Well, I’m glad the Damascus Dispatch writers strike has ended so I have something to do again. And I really like the Donut Shop K-Cups. I’m not sure I’m happy about the 10% increase in union dues, but hey, at least I got a job”