I noticed that a nonunion colleague of mine stated in the Washington City Paper (“Small Change,” 5/3) that “‘[i]neffectual’ does not begin to describe” the Newspaper Guild at the Washington Post. As a bit of phrase-making, that’s not nearly as clever as it is foolish.

Without pretending to pose as Mother Jones at the keyboard, I labor under the assumption that our union is, foremost, an expression of collective will. I owe a portion of my salary and my health benefits, and our ability to speak up for and defend our colleagues, to that union.

The Washington Post is a fine newspaper, and I’m proud to work here. But I’m not proud that management has taken a condescending and often mean-spirited stance towards a terrific union. It’s beneath them.

We would be stronger, it’s true, if all of our colleagues put their shoulders behind the wheel of our common endeavor. Thank goodness, our membership numbers are rising.

Perhaps one day our ranks will include a certain handsomely compensated columnist.

New York Bureau Chief

Washington Post