Hundreds of technology workers at the embattled New York Times may vote to walk off the job on Tuesday if the company does not meet their job demands.
The threatened Election Day walkout, which could critically hamper the paper’s coverage of the presidential vote, comes amid stalled negotiations between the two sides, the Wall Street Journal said.
“We have made it clear that we must reach an agreement before the election in order to avoid a strike,” the union’s bargaining team wrote to the Times board of directors asking its members to intervene.
The stance of the Guild, which represents software engineers, data analysts and designers at The Gray Lady, marks the first test of the union’s labor muscle since it was formed in 2022, the paper said.
According to the union, members voted to walk off the job by a 95% margin in September if the company does not meet their demands, which include job security in the face of improving AI technology and equal pay for women and union members. minorities.
Election Day, especially in a presidential election year, typically provides a big spike in readership for news organizations, as is expected to be the case Tuesday with a tight race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
A Times spokesman told the Journal that the union’s deadline seemed “arbitrary” and said the election day choice “feels both unnecessary and contrary to our mission.”
However, the spokesman said the newspaper has “strong plans to ensure we are able to fulfill our mission and serve our readers”.
The guild hasn’t had a contract since its founding, but newspaper officials note that its members are among the highest paid at the company with most earning six-figure salaries — with compensation and stock options worth about $190,000 on average.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the Tech Guild to reach a fair contract, given that they are already among the highest paid individual contributors at the company and journalism is our top priority,” a Times spokesperson said in an email. . on sunday.
“We are in one of the most important periods of coverage for our readers,” they said.
On a recent Saturday, union members gathered at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn for the benefits.
The Guild did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post on Sunday.
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