New York Times Tech Workers Threaten to Strike on Election Day – Mother Jones

The New York Times’ unionized tech workers are threatening to strike if they don’t reach a contract agreement with management.Guerin Charles/Abaca/ZUMA

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With two days until election day, the New York Times is facing a potential crisis: the army of technology workers who keep its digital platforms running are at risk of going on strike.

Nearly 700 members of the newspaper Tech Guild– representing the workers who famously wield power election needlemobile push notifications, Wordle, the audio app and many other things – voted to authorize a strike in September. Now, just a few days before the election where the candidates are looking locked in a dead heatworkers say a strike could happen if they don’t reach an agreement with management, which they say has “shown an unwillingness at the table to be reasonable on key contract demands.” They say they have been negotiating for more than two years.

“We have made it clear that we must reach an agreement before the elections to avoid a strike,” the guild said. wrote in a November 1 letter to management.

One of the requirements of the Tech Guild is only grounds for termination without exceptions, higher wages and more initiatives to promote diversity, equality and inclusion in their workforce.

Times For its part, management says its employees, the majority of whom are engineers, are already among the company’s highest-paid, earning an average salary of $190,000 — $40,000 more than journalists in the Times Guild, the union for the media workers of the United States. newspaper. Their other requests, Semafor reported include a four-day work week in September and non-performance-related annual bonuses. The Tech Guild say members who are women and people of color are paid less than men and white people; Times Management counters that the methodology behind these comparisons is “misleading” because it does not compare people in similar positions and that a pay analysis conducted last year “found no evidence of discrimination.”

Danielle rhoades ha, senior vice president of external communications at the Timessaid a statement Mother Jones: “The timing of the election deadline is arbitrary and was a decision made unilaterally by the Tech Guild leadership. While we respect the union’s right to engage in protected action, threatening a strike at this time feels both unnecessary and inconsistent with our mission.”

While the timing may be awkward for the nation’s most influential newspaper, the Election Day deadline appears designed to remind management that its sense of journalistic exceptionalism depends on the workers in power. For example, Rhoades Ha said in her statement: “There is no outlet that provides the depth of The Times’ reporting and analysis.” The Times has touted the Election Needle, launched in 2016, as an accurate and early predictor of election outcomes; members of the union participation without them it won’t function.

That could also be the case Times website goes dark on election day when hundreds of tech workers are on strike? It’s unclear. “We have robust plans to ensure we can fulfill our mission and serve our readers,” Rhoades Ha said. She declined to respond to follow-up questions.