- New York Times tech workers are ending their strike after a weeklong stoppage.
- The strike aimed to disrupt election coverage but had limited impact on the Times’ operations.
- The Tech Guild, formed in 2021, represents 600-plus engineers.
New York Times tech workers are ending their strike and returning to work Tuesday after a weeklong work stoppage, a Times spokesperson told Business Insider.
The Tech Guild chose a crucial day to go on strike, the day before the November 5 US presidential election, a move that threatened to disrupt the paper’s all-important election coverage.
But the Times’ site and its famous election needle that shows how a race is tilting operated just fine on election night, which could have deprived the guild of some of its leverage.
Dozens of tech workers crossed the picket line, showing splinters within the unit. The strike also exposed division between the guild and some Times journalists (who are represented by a different unit of the same News Guild of New York), who previously expressed to BI a lack of sympathy for the tech workers given their relatively high salaries and the potential for the strike to impact the outlet’s core journalism mission.
Formed in 2021, the Tech Guild represents upward of 600 engineers. It has been bargaining since 2022 and has been at odds with management over issues including remote-work protections, pay equity, limits on subcontracting, and just cause. Both sides are expected to resume bargaining at some point.
“We look forward to continuing to work with Tech Guild to reach a fair contract that takes into account that they are already among the highest paid individual contributors in the Company and journalism is our top priority,” the Times spokesperson said.
Union reps didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
This story is developing…
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