Technology staff at the New York Times have gone on strike to protest alleged unfair labor practices and are asking people not to play Times games, which include games like Wordle and Connections, to “honor the digital picket line.”
The strike, which began today after “multiple rounds of intense negotiations” with management failed to reach an agreement, has been organized by The Times Tech Guild, a union of 600 workers responsible for creating and maintaining the technology that powers the New York Times. ‘ website and games.
According to a statement shared by NewsGuild of New York, the union representing more than 6,000 workers at area news organizations, the Times Tech Guild had raised a number of key concerns with management ahead of today’s strike.
ULP STRIKE ALERT (Thread, 1 of 4): Our @NYTGuildTech members have walked off the job despite making every effort to negotiate with management. Our members know their worth and they will prove that at the picket line today. Read more here…. pic.twitter.com/FaPtLCwW9J
— NewsGuild of New York (@nyguild) November 4, 2024
These include remote/hybrid job protections, “just cause” job protections (which the Times newsroom is said to have had for “decades”), limits on outsourcing, and pay equity/fair pay.
Times management is accused of engaging in “numerous violations of labor law” during the bargaining process, including implementing a return to office mandate without negotiation and intimidating staff through “interrogations about their strike intentions.”
As a result, the New York NewsGuild has filed unfair labor practice charges against the Times covering “numerous” labor law violations, and the work stoppage began at 12:01 a.m. ET on Monday with members of the Tech Guild picketing in front of its Eighth Avenue entrance. In addition, its editorial union has agreed not to carry out strike work, according to its contract.
The Times Tech Guild strike will continue every day from 9am to 6pm if no progress is made during negotiations – threatening to impact the Times’ US election coverage this week – and the union is asking readers to “honour the digital picket and don’t Play popular NYT games like Wordle and Connections and don’t use the NYT Cooking app.”
“Our union members and bargaining committee have done everything they can to prevent this ULP strike,” Tech Guild unit president Kathy Zhang said in the statement. “But management is more willing to risk our election coverage than to accept a fair deal with its workers. They have left us no choice but to demonstrate the power of our workers on the picket lines. However, we are willing to negotiate and get this contract crosses the line.”
In a response provided to Polygon, New York Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha said, “We look forward to continuing to work with Tech Guild to reach a fair contract that takes into account that they are already among the company’s highest-paid individual contributors.” “. and journalism is our top priority.
“We are in one of the most important coverage periods for our readers and we have robust plans in place to ensure we can fulfill our mission and serve our readers. While we respect the union’s right to engage in protected actions, “We are disappointed that our colleagues are going on strike right now, which is unnecessary and contrary to our mission.
