Claudia Levy

Claudia Dale Levy (December 24, 1943[1][2] – December 3, 2021) was an American journalist and union activist who worked at The Washington Post in the 1980s and 1990s.[2]

Claudia Levy
Born(1943-12-24)December 24, 1943
Galveston, Texas, U.S.
DiedDecember 3, 2021(2021-12-03) (aged 77)
Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)journalist, editor
EmployerThe Washington Post

Early life

Claudia Levy was born in Galveston, Texas, the daughter of Sidney Alexander Levy and Virginia Dale Clark Levy.[1] She was raised in the Washington, D.C. area and graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in 1961.[2][3] Both of her parents worked in journalism.[4]

Career and activism

Levy edited the real estate and regional Maryland Weekly sections at The Washington Post. She approved a two-part investigative series by Eugene L. Meyer in 1980, on white flight in Prince George's County, Maryland. The piece received an honorable mention from the National Association of Home Builders.[5]

In 1972, she was head of a committee of over 100 women employees of The Post when they filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The complaint was settled in 1980, with the employees receiving some back pay and other concessions. "It's strictly token back pay. But the affirmative action element is promising," Levy commented after the settlement was reached.[6] In 1986, she was a lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit representing employees of The Washington Post who sued the newspaper for overtime pay.[7]

Levy wrote obituaries for The Washington Post for twelve years.[8] "People can be incredibly angry when they call with a news obit," she told a reporter in 1995. "We try to be precise, and it makes some people mad."[9] She was one of about 130 Washington Post staffers who accepted the Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program to take an early retirement in late 2003.[10]

Personal life

Levy died from an embolism following cervical spine surgery on December 3, 2021, at her home in the Bannockburn community of Bethesda, Maryland. She was 76 years old.[11] At the time of her death, she was caring for both of her aged parents in her home.[5]

References
  1. Texas Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Birth Index 1903-1997; via Ancestry
  2. Bernstein, Adam (December 8, 2021). "Claudia Levy, Washington Post journalist and advocate for women in the newsroom, dies at 77". The Washington Post.
  3. Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, The Pine Tree (1961 yearbook): 74. via Ancestry.
  4. "Marriage Revealed". Lansing State Journal. July 8, 1943. p. 15. Retrieved October 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Meyer, Eugene L. (December 10, 2021). "Claudia Levy, R.I.P."
  6. "Complaint on Sex Discrimination Settled at The Washington Post". The New York Times. November 20, 1980. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  7. "Washington Post Faces Suit Charging Abuse of Overtime". The New York Times. Associated Press. October 2, 1986. p. A20.
  8. Yount, David (December 7, 2003). "Obit writers learn to take a different look at mortality". Abilene Reporter-News. p. 74. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  9. Dolan, Michael (August 4, 1995). "If You're Not Dead, We're Not Interested: Life in the Obituary Zone". Washington City Paper. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  10. Robertson, Lori (April–May 2004). "Take the Money and Run". American Journalism Review. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  11. "Journalist and advocate for women in the newsroom". Tampa Bay Times. December 19, 2021. pp. A14. Retrieved October 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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