The New York Times Tech Guild announced Monday morning that it has officially begun an unfair labor practice strike, a day before the high-stakes presidential election.
The union told X that it gave management “months’ advance notice of a strike deadline,” but ultimately concluded that “members don’t deserve a fair contract and stop unfair labor practices.” The company has determined that.”
The guild is made up of more than 600 technical professionals, including software engineers and data analysts, who “build and maintain the critical infrastructure behind The New York Times,” according to its website. That’s what it means. The website says they work on the back end of Times products such as games, recipes, podcasts and election coverage. They work on the business side of the company, according to the Times.
Times spokeswoman Daniel Rhodes Ha said in a statement Monday that the company “respects union rights to engage in protected activities and is disappointed that our colleagues would go on strike during this time.” This is unnecessary and contrary to our mission.”
“We continue to work with the Tech Guild to reach a fair contract that takes into account that they are already the highest-paid individual contributors in the company and that journalism is our top priority. I look forward to doing so,” said Rose Ha.
The paper said it has “firm plans in place to ensure we can fulfill our mission and serve our readers.”
The Times Tech Guild and Times management held negotiations late Sunday, the Times reported. Issues included “good cause” clauses in guild contracts, salary increases and pay equity, and return-to-office policies.
The guild said the strikers would picket in front of the Times in Times Square from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, and urged people to provide support, including avoiding the Times’ games and cooking apps. I asked for
Times Media reporter Katie Robertson said the news union told its members on Monday that there is a no-strike clause in their contracts, but that members “can refuse to work if asked to do so by management.” He told X that he told them he could help the striking tech workers.
