More than 750 Washington Post employees walked off the job Thursday in a 24-hour strike, the largest labor protest at the media company in nearly 50 years, according to the Post’s union.

Post staff has worked without a union contract for the last 18 months as negotiations between the Washington Post Guild and Post management have stalled. Workers accuse management of refusing to bargain in good faith on a number of issues, including pay equity, minimum salaries, mental health supports, retirement benefits, and remote work policies.

In October, Post leadership also announced that it would offer staff buyouts in an effort to shrink the workforce by 240 people — a number they haven’t managed to reach, resulting in the possibility of layoffs.

A Washington Post spokesperson told DCist/WAMU in a statement that the paper would work to make sure the strike did not affect readers, and that the Post’s goal is “to reach an agreement with the Guild that meets the needs of our employees and the needs of our business.”

Around 100 union members picketing for a fair contract filled the sidewalk Thursday outside of the Washington Post offices on K Street. They donned red Washington Post Guild shirts and passed out hand warmers to each other as they braced against the chilly December day. Union members honked vuvuzelas and chanted “no cuts” as they marched up and down the block. They even erected a giant blow-up rat named Scabby.

Katie Mettler, a criminal justice reporter for the Post’s metro desk and a co-chair for the Guild, said they plan to stay out there until midnight on Friday morning.

Another local reporter, Marissa Lang, who covers housing and gentrification for the Metro section, expressed concern about how buyouts could affect the paper’s local coverage.

“The [buyout offer] numbers on Metro are disproportionate to a lot of the other sections of the news operation. There’s a lot of concern on the impact that will have,” Lang says.