Washington Post staff are jealous of the free M&M's and wasabi peas at The New York Times - and they want similar perks from Jeff Bezos

Reuters/Lindsey Wasson

Amazon CEO and owner of the Washington Post Jeff Bezos.

• Employees at The Washington Post are asking owner Jeff Bezos for fairer pay and benefits.
• But it's not just the fundamentals unionised staff are campaigning over, they also have their eye on other perks - free snacks.
• In a bulletin circulated internally last week, unionized staff outlined the superior benefits their peers at The New York Times receive.
• Included was the fact that Times employees get free popcorn, M&M's, and wasabi peas, while Post staff are limited to coffee and mouth wash.
  
• The implied message to Bezos and Post management was: We'd like some of the same.

More than 400 Washington Post employees sent an open letter to owner Jeff Bezos last week demanding that the Amazon CEO improve their pay and benefits.

In the letter, they called for fair pay, benefits, and job security, decrying "shocking" current practices. But it's not just the fundamentals unionized staff are campaigning over, they also have their eye on other perks - free snacks.

The Post's union, The Washington Post Guild, sent Business Insider a copy of a bulletin that was circulated internally on Friday last week.

It outlines the superior benefits their peers at The New York Times receive, addressing the disparity in wages, retirement, family leave, holidays, job security, and severance.

Some of the bulletin has already been shared on Twitter by Post journalist Abigail Hauslohner:

At the end of the memo is an afterthought, which highlights the generosity of The New York Times when it comes to free perks in the office. The implied message to Bezos and Post management was: We'd like some of the same.

"The Times offers its staff free coffee - and free snacks, too: fresh fruit, popcorn, M&M's, trail mix and wasabi peas, to name a few," the bulletin said. "The Post has started providing free coffee this year. Oh, and mouth wash."

In a recent Huffington Post article, journalist and co-chair of the Washington Post Guild bargaining unit, Frederick Kunkle, accused Bezos of trying to cultivate an image as a philanthropist while "taking from the very people who helped him build his fortune."

Kunkle told Business Insider that the Guild has had no response from Bezos since the open letter was issued, "none at all." He also said Martin Baron, the Post's venerated editor, has not got involved in the debate.

"Marty has not directly entered into it at all, and honestly I sort of wish he would. And I wish he would stick up for having good jobs for the people who come here, and not just expanding the newsroom," Kunkle added.

Business Insider has contacted The Washington Post for comment.