NYT tech staff end election week strike, negotiations to continue

Nov 12

Karah Rucker Reporter

By Karah Rucker (Reporter), Alex Delia (Producer), Ian Kennedy (Video Editor)

The New York Times Tech Guild returned to work on Tuesday Nov. 12 following a weeklong strike that started just before Election Day. The Guild, representing more than 600 employees, says the strike affected the Times’ digital coverage of the election, with workers walking out to protest for better contract terms.

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In a statement, the Tech Guild announced that its members would “march into the office together in the morning as a symbol of what’s to come for The Times.”

The New York Times' tech team has gone on strike, threatening the newspaper's real-time coverage of Election Day results. — AP Images

The guild’s chair, Kathy Zhang, noted that the work stoppage caused some issues on Election Day, including the unavailability of certain vote-tracking tools and slower app and website performance.

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The guild had also requested that readers avoid the Times’ daily puzzle games and cooking app during the strike. Instead, they directed users to alternate games made by striking workers on an independent website. Now that the strike has ended, the guild has lifted that request.

A Times spokesperson said that despite the strike, the Times had “the smoothest site performance during an election ever,” crediting the months of preparation work by Tech Guild members and other staff. The spokesperson also said the company looks forward to continuing negotiations with the guild.

The guild plans to continue negotiating with the Times for a fair contract, with Zhang saying the disruption underscored the importance of the work done by the tech team.

The Times, meanwhile, emphasized that its focus remains on journalism and serving its readers, while noting that guild members are among the highest-paid contributors in the company.

Tags: New York, Strike, Tech, Technology, The New York Times, video games

[Karah]

THE NEW YORK TIMES TECH EMPLOYEES WENT BACK TO WORK TUESDAY AFTER A WEEKLONG STRIKE THAT BEGAN JUST BEFORE ELECTION DAY. THE GUILD AND THE TIMES REACHED A CONCLUSION THAT ALLOWED WORKERS TO RETURN, BUT NO FINAL DEAL HAS BEEN MADE… AND THERE’S STILL MORE NEGOTIATING AHEAD.

THE STRIKE IMPACTED THE TIMES’ ELECTION COVERAGE, AS SOME STATE-LEVEL PREDICTION NEEDLES WEREN’T DISPLAYED, AND THE WEBSITE AND APP SAW SLOW LOAD TIMES. REPORTS ALSO NOTED THAT ABOUT 100 TECH WORKERS CROSSED THE PICKET LINE TO KEEP DIGITAL OPERATIONS RUNNING.

NOW THAT THE STRIKE HAS ENDED, THE TECH GUILD HAS ANNOUNCED THAT TIMES USERS SHOULD RETURN TO THEIR DAILY PUZZLES AND THE COOKING APP… BOTH OF WHICH THE GUILD HAD ASKED USERS TO AVOID DURING THE STRIKE… CREATING THEIR OWN VERSIONS FOR SUPPORTIVE READERS IN THE MEANTIME.

THE NEW YORK TIMES TECH GUILD REPRESENTS OVER 600 TECH WORKERS WHO MANAGE THE DIGITAL FEATURES AT THE TIMES, INCLUDING POPULAR GAMES LIKE WORDLE AND CONNECTIONS. THEIR STRIKE, WHICH BEGAN ON THE EVE OF THE U.S. ELECTION, RAISED CONCERNS OVER THE STABILITY OF CRITICAL VOTE-TRACKING TOOLS, LIKE THE “NEEDLE.”

A TIMES SPOKESPERSON CREDITED THE GUILD MEMBERS AND OTHERS FOR THE SITE’S ELECTION READINESS, CALLING IT “THE SMOOTHEST PERFORMANCE DURING AN ELECTION YET.” THE TIMES ALSO SAID THEY’RE COMMITTED TO NEGOTIATING A FAIR CONTRACT WHILE NOTING THAT GUILD MEMBERS ARE AMONG THE HIGHEST-PAID CONTRIBUTORS.

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FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS… I’M KARAH RUCKER.