Unionized tech workers at the New York Times voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to authorize a strike against the newspaper.
The New York Times Tech Guild, which represents more than 600 employees at the paper, said its members voted to authorize the strike due to stalled contract negotiations.
“We are sending Times management a strong message with our vote today,” Kathy Zhang, the unit chair of the union and senior analytics manager at the Times, said Tuesday. “Our work produces incredible value in this company. Our members have earned a fair contract and we’re ready to do whatever it takes to make sure we get it.”
According to the guild, 89% of its members participated in the authorization vote and the vote passed by 95%.
In a statement, the union said it timed its strike authorization vote to coincide with the first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. The guild says that half of bargaining employees work on election-related content.
While the Times said it respects the rights of the Tech Guild to engage in protected actions, the union’s demands are unique and have increased bargaining time.
“Since July 2022, bargaining has been focusing on a broad range of non-economic proposals from the TechGuild such as pet bereavement leave, unscented cleaning products, and banning machine learning among many other topics that are typically not part of collective bargaining agreements,” a Times spokesperson said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the group to reach a fair contract, that takes into account that they are already among the highest paid in the Company and journalism is our top priority.”
The Times also noted that the average compensation for a Tech Guild employee is about $190,000, or $40,000 more than Times journalists.
With the election less than two months away, a strike could hurt the paper. However, while there seems to be overwhelming support for a strike, Tuesday’s vote doesn’t guarantee that a strike will happen.
The Tech Guild was formed in 2022 and has been consistently bargaining with Times leadership for over two years. The union’s main demands include pay increases, workplace protections and remote work guarantees.
If the Tech Guild decides to picket the Times, it would be the first strike at the paper in two years. In late 2022, members of the NewsGuild of New York walked off the job at the Times after contract negotiations broke down.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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