New York Times tech union goes on strike one day before election – NBC New York

The New York Times Tech Guild announced Monday morning that it is officially going on strike for unfair labor practices, just one day before a crucial presidential election.

The trade union explained X that it notified management “several months before the strike deadline,” but ultimately “the company decided that our employees were not worthy enough to agree to a fair contract and stop committing unfair labor practices.”

The guild is made up of more than 600 technical professionals, such as software engineers and data analysts, who “build and maintain The New York Times’ critical infrastructure,” according to the guild’s website. They work on the back end of Times products, including games, recipes, podcasts and election coverage, according to the site. The NYT said they work in the business side of the company.

NYT spokeswoman Danielle Rhodes Ha told NBC News on Monday that while the company respects “a union’s right to engage in protected activities, we are disappointed that co-workers would go on strike at this time, which is unnecessary and contrary to our mission.”

“We look forward to continuing to work with the Tech Guild to negotiate a fair contract that recognizes that they are already among the Company’s highest-paid individual employees and that journalism is our top priority,” Ha said.

The Times said it has “robust plans to ensure we can deliver on our mission and serve our readers.”

According to a report by the Times Tech Guild, and NYT management were in negotiations until late Sunday. New York Times. Issues discussed at the table included having a “just cause” clause in the guild’s contract, salary increases and fairness, and re-entry policies.

The Guild said strikers will picket in front of the NYT office in Times Square every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and are asking the public to support their avoiding the use of NYT games and cooking apps.

New York Times reporter Katie Robertson said. X that the NYT newsroom union told members Monday that its contract has a no-strike clause, but members can support striking tech workers by “refusing to do their jobs if asked to do so by management.”

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