New York Times tech workers go on strike | Semafor

The New York Times Tech Guild went on strike Monday in a move that could complicate the newspaper’s ability to cover Tuesday’s US presidential election.

The Guild represents more than 600 software developers, data analysts, and designers whose work upholds the organization’s digital products, including its live blogs and the Times’ election needle. The union has said roughly half of its members are directly involved in supporting the paper’s election coverage, and the increased traffic to the outlet’s website around an election only increases the pressure on the publication’s back-end systems.

The union said they gave Times 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.”

In a letter sent to the tech workers on Sunday, the newspaper’s management said it had put a “strong offer on the table,” The New York Times reported.

More than 750 Times journalists have signed a letter of support urging the Times leadership to sign a deal before the election. “We can’t do our jobs without the Tech Guild,” the letter said. “Can you imagine if our election needle didn’t work, the app didn’t open or the homepage went down?”

The Tech Guild has been negotiating a contract since March 2022, and voted in early September to authorize a strike around Election Day. The Guild and Times management remain at odds over “just cause” protections against arbitrary or unfair dismissal, remote work, and pay equity.