New York Times tech staff have begun strike action in protest of alleged unfair labour practices, and are asking people not to play the Times’ games – which include the likes of Wordle and Connections – in order to “honour the digital picket line”.
The strike, which started today after “multiple rounds of intense bargaining” with management failed to reach an agreement, has been organised by The Times Tech Guild, a union covering 600 workers responsible for the creation and maintainance of the technology powering the New York Times’ website and games.
According to a statement shared by the NewsGuild of New York – the labour union representing over 6,000 workers at news organisation in the area – the Times Tech Guild had raised a number of key concerns with management prior to today’s strike. These include remote/hybrid work protections, “just cause” job protections (which the Times’ newsroom is said to have had for “decades”), subcontracting limits, and pay equity/fair pay.
The statement accuses New York Times management of engaging in “numerous labour law violations” during the bargaining process, including the implementation of a return-to-office mandate without bargaining, and the intimidation of staff through “interrogations about their strike intentions”.
As a result, the NewsGuild of New York has filed unfair labour practice charges against the New York Times covering “numerous” violations of labour law, and work stoppage began at 12.01am ET on Monday with Tech Guild members picketing outside the New York Times’ Eight Avenue Entrance. Additionally, the publication’s newsroom union has pledged not to do struck work, as per their contract.
The Times Tech Guild’s strike action is set to continue daily from 9am to 6pm if no progress is made during negotiations – meaning it threatens to impact the publication’s US election coverage this week – and the union is asking readers to “honour the digital picket line and not play popular NYT Games such as Wordle and Connections as well as not use the NYT Cooking app.”
“Our union members and bargaining committee have done everything to avoid this ULP strike,” Tech Guild unit chair Kathy Zhang said in the statement. “But management is more willing to risk our election coverage than they are to agree to a fair deal with its workers. They have left us no choice but to demonstrate the power of our labour on the picket line. Nevertheless, we stand ready to bargain and get this contract across the line.”
In a response provided to Polygon, a New York Times spokesperson said, “We look forward to continuing to work with the Tech Guild to reach a fair contract that takes into account that they are already among the highest paid individual contributors in the Company and journalism is our top priority.
“We’re in one of the most consequential periods of coverage for our readers and have robust plans in place to ensure that we are able to fulfil our mission and serve our readers. While we respect the union’s right to engage in protected actions, we’re disappointed that colleagues would strike at this time, which is both unnecessary and at odds with our mission.”
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