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# Arbitrator orders Washington Post to rehire columnist
- URL: https://capitolcommunicator.com/arbitrator-orders-washington-post-to-rehire-opinion-columnist/
- Published: 2026-08-24T14:02:07.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-26T17:46:43.000Z
- Author: Capitol Communicator
- Tags: People, Media, #wp-top-right-sponsored, #Import 2026-10-08 18:56

**An independent arbitrator has ruled that The Washington Post violated its collective bargaining agreement with the Washington-Baltimore News Guild when it fired columnist** [**Karen Attiah**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen%5FAttiah?ref=capitolcommunicator.com) in September 2025, states a [release](https://wbng.org/news/karen-attiah-arbitration-win?ref=capitolcommunicator.com) from the Guild, According to the Guild, the ruling “vindicates the Guild’s yearlong fight, with support from Democracy Defenders Fund, and orders the Post to reinstate Attiah with backpay and lost benefits.

“Attiah, who spent 11 years at the Post with an unblemished disciplinary record before rising to columnist and founding editor of its Global Opinions section, was terminated over two posts on Bluesky addressing racial double standards in the public response to political violence. Attiah was a member of the Post Guild, meaning she was covered by the union’s collective bargaining agreement requiring that her termination either be the result of progressive discipline or rise to the level of “gross misconduct.” The Post had argued Attiah’s Bluesky posts constituted “gross misconduct” that endangered staff safety; the arbitrator ruled that they did not, finding the posts did not disparage white men or “any individual or group on the basis of race or gender,” and that the Post’s decision to hold Attiah accountable for threats of violence made by bad actors against her was a “wholly rejected justification for the termination.””

“This decision confirms what we’ve said from the start: I was doing my job as an opinion journalist, and doing that job is not misconduct,” said Attiah. “After spending over a decade of my career at the Post as an editor and an opinion columnist focusing on race, gender and global human rights, I’m relieved to finally have that record set straight. I am grateful to everyone at the Guild and Democracy Defenders Fund who stood behind me through this nearly-year-long battle. I hope that this win sends a message to journalists and media institutions everywhere that freedom of expression is always worth fighting for.”