New York Times employees are walking out over pay dispute

MORE than 1,000 New York Times employees are preparing to stage a one-day walkout on Thursday (Dec 8), escalating a standoff with management over a stalled contract.

A representative of the NewsGuild of New York, which represents the employees, said on Wednesday that a walkout was “very likely at this point”. In a tweet, the union asked Times readers to not engage with the company’s platforms Thursday “and stand with us on the digital picket line!”

In a statement, a New York Times spokesperson said the company was “disappointed” that the NewsGuild was threatening to strike.

“We are prepared to ensure the Times continues to serve our readers without disruption,” the Times spokesperson said.

The employees are preparing for what would be the first full-day work stoppage at the Times in over four decades, according to the union.

Times journalists have been without a contract since March 2021.

The unionised employees are calling for, among other things, wage increases that keep pace with rising inflation and for the company to preserve health care and retirement benefits.

A Times spokesperson said the company’s current wage proposal offers “significant increases” and its medical and retirement proposals “offer sustainable, best-in-class options”.

The union says management’s proposed wage increase isn’t enough, especially as the company has done well financially and its top executives are highly compensated.

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Over the past year, there have been a series of public clashes between unionised Times workers and the company. In September, hundreds of staffers worked from home in defiance of the company’s renewed return-to-office push. In August 2021, hundreds of tech workers staged a walkout to protest what they deemed unfair labour practices and alleged union busting. Wirecutter journalists held a Black Friday strike last November and then reached a contract deal the following month. BLOOMBERG