NYT tech union announces labor strike one day before US election
3 Min Read
The New York Times management claims it will work on reaching a deal "that also considers the fact that tech workers are among the highest paid individuals" in the company.
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Scenes from the New York Times' tech union strike on November 4, 2024 (X/NYTGuildTech)
The New York Times Tech Guild announced it is on strike, citing unfair labor practice, only a day before the crucial presidential election.Â
In a post on X, the NYT Tech Guild revealed that the NYT management was given "months of notice of our strike deadline," however, "the company has decided that our members aren’t worth enough to agree to a fair contract and stop committing unfair labor practices."
We are on ULP strike. We gave @nytimes management months of notice of our strike deadline, we made ourselves available around the clock, but the company has decided that our members aren’t worth enough to agree to a fair contract and stop committing unfair labor practices. pic.twitter.com/jYlANW1ruw
— New York Times Tech Guild (@NYTGuildTech) November 4, 2024
The guild consists of more than 600 tech professionals, including software engineers and data analysts, who are responsible for building and maintaining the essential infrastructure behind The New York Times, as stated on the guild's website.
Their work supports various NYT products, such as games, recipes, podcasts, and election coverage, also noting that they are part of the business side of the company.
NYT spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha expressed in a statement on Monday that, although the company respects "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."
Rhoades further claimed the NYT is eager to continue working with the guild to reach fair contracts that would also consider "that they are already among the highest paid individual contributors in the Company and journalism is our top priority."
The Tech Guild and NYT management held negotiations late Sunday to discuss key issues included the inclusion of a "just cause" provision in the guild’s contract, pay raises and pay equity, as well as return-to-office policies.
The Guild announced that strikers would picket outside the NYT building in Times Square daily from 9 am to 6 pm, urging the public to show support by refraining from using NYT games or cooking apps.
NYT media reporter Katie Robertson shared on X that the newsroom union informed its members on Monday that, although there is a no-strike clause in their contract, they could still support the striking tech workers "by refusing to do their work if asked by management."
Several speakers have claimed this is the largest tech rally in history. pic.twitter.com/FVPNxQbtcv
— Riley MacLeod (@rcmacleod) November 4, 2024
The US presidential election campaign entered its final weekend with polls showing Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in a seemingly permanent deadlock and few clues as to which of them will prevail on Tuesday.
At the end of a chaotic week that started with Trump’s racially charged rally in New York and included celebrity endorsements and misogynistic comments, The Guardian’s 10-day polling average showed little change. Voter loyalty to candidates appeared largely unaffected by these events.
Nationally, Harris, the Democratic nominee, holds a narrow one-point lead over her Republican opponent, 48% to 47%, which is nearly unchanged from last week. This lead is within the margin of error for most polls.
However, former US President Barack Obama's 2012 campaign manager, Jim Messina, has described the early voting figures in the US presidential election as "scary" for Harris.
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