New York Times Tech Workers Strike Over Pay, Job Security, and Remote Work Policies
New York Times Tech Guild tech workers strike for pay equity, job security, and remote work policies ahead of Election Day. The union calls on readers to support their digital picket line by pausing Times Games and the Cooking app usage.
The New York Times Tech Guild, made up of over 600 members who are software developers and data analysts, called a strike early Monday demanding fair wages, job security, and flexible remote work policies. This is critical as The Times is going to have high readership during the Election Day coverage.
The Tech Guild, which was certified by the National Labor Relations Board in March 2022, has been negotiating its first contract with The New York Times for more than a year. Some of the key issues that the union is asking for include a "just cause" provision, whereby only specific reasons can be grounds for termination of tech workers, as well as a push for greater pay equity and looser return-to-office policies. The call of action of the Guild appeals to readers' demand to do their part in supporting their digital picket line by staying off Times Games, such as Wordle, and the Cooking app.
The negotiations went on till Sunday night, but no consensus was reached. The company's final offer was an annual wage increase of 2.5% for a minimum pay raise at 5% on promotion, and a $1,000 ratification bonus. It also proposed maintaining its two days a week of office work and allow its employees to work fully remote for three weeks a year. Members of the Tech Guild voted to go on strike, saying that it did not get the company's offer as close to fair compensation and job security.
This further emphasizes the objection of the union against the attempts by The Times to track members' intent to strike and recent return-to-office mandates. The Guild, in return, filed a number of unfair labor practice charges before the National Labor Relations Board.
The spokesperson for the Times said the company had "robust plans in place to continue serving readers" and highlighted that the strike could "disrupt the mission of the news outlet at a critical time of news cycle." The News Guild of New York is the biggest tech union in the country and has collective bargaining rights.