Striking NY Times tech workers 'done compromising,' as staffers say election coverage in jeopardy
Striking New York Times tech staffers spoke to Fox News Digital about why they're walked off the job in the middle of the busiest news cycle of the year.
The New York Times' ability to provide Election Day information and analysis online could be in jeopardy if hundreds of the giant newspaper's disgruntled tech staffers stick to their guns and continue to strike over "unfair labor practices."
The New York Times Tech Guild went on strike Monday over its ongoing clash with management. The Tech Guild's 600 members are in charge of the back-end systems that power the paper's extensive digital operations, working in Engineering, Product, Design, Data and the project management office.
The strike could affect the paper's ability to cover the election results of the presidential race, as well as the congressional races determining who will control Washington in 2025. Times software engineer Sarah Duncan, who works on the paper’s homepage, admitted the strike could drastically affect the Times on its busiest day of the year.
"I do think there is potential we’re not working [on Election Night], which is disappointing," Duncan told Fox News Digital outside the Times’ New York headquarters.
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"I do still hold out hope… our union was built on hope, so I think a lot of us are hoping to be working tomorrow with an agreement in hand," she continued. "If we don’t get an agreement, we’ll be on the picket, but we’d love to be back at our jobs."
Times staffers dressed in red marched and chanted outside the paper’s Midtown Manhattan office with "Scabby," the giant, inflatable rat that is symbolic of New York City labor disputes, perched outside 620 Eighth Avenue. "We are not a joke, we are not playing," a Guild leader told the crowd.
The Times’ famous "Election Needle" showing the likelihood of Trump or Harris winning could be jeopardized; tech workers also work to make sure the Times' apps, push alerts and other digital mechanisms work smoothly.
Duncan said union members know their "worth," and she has personally spent months preparing the paper’s homepage for Election Day, when the Times expects to see a significant uptick in traffic and engagement.
"I’ve worked multiple elections, including the 2020 presidential election, and if we’re not on strike tomorrow, I’ll be in the office working until 2 a.m. making sure… the homepage stays up," she said.
"It’s our peak traffic, when we see the most people coming to The New York Times is during a presidential election, so that’s why months ago we gave management a deadline saying we wanted a contract by the election or we’re going on strike," she added. "They wouldn’t give us what we were demanding, so we’ve already made enough compromises. We’re done compromising, so we’re out here until we get a fair contract."
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Last week, The Times published a look at its election night plans that suggested the "Election Needle" and other technical assets are vital.
"Much of the home page on election night is dominated by graphics and other visuals, including the Needle, a data visualization that looks like a car’s speedometer. The Needle, powered by the Election Analytics department, which works on statistical models for election night, will share The Times’s race forecasts, based on statistical analysis of votes that are counted and estimates of those to come. An interactive map of the United States will also populate the home page; states will appear red or blue as Electoral College votes are confirmed," Times reporter Sarah Bahr wrote.
Duncan, who isn’t on the bargaining committee, was unaware of any progress that could have been made while the union was protesting the paper’s "behavior" outside the Gray Lady headquarters.
"We’ve been negotiating our first contract for two-and-a-half years now and The New York Times has engaged in several illegal practices, including trying to force us back into the office without bargaining," Duncan said.
A Times spokesperson said the hybrid model of partial return-to-office policy has worked well for the company and it had no plans to change its current approach, adding the paper has seen the advantages of working remotely but also values in-person collaboration. They added the company's proposal to the Tech Guild was the same as what it agreed to last year.
Duncan said "pay equity and fair compensation," "remote work protections" and "just cause with no exceptions" are the three issues that concern most union members.
"For me, personally, pay equity is the biggest one, and fair compensation, because Black women and Latino women, particularly in our unit, make less, like significantly less, than White men in the unit," she said, adding that CEO Meredith Kopit Levien received a much larger pay increase than rank-and-file employees last year.
Duncan said that Levien "gave herself" a raise of over 30% last year to bring her salary above the $10 million-per-year mark. The Times did not immediately respond when asked about Levien’s salary. Tech Guild members earn an average salary of $190,000.
"We’re the ones who power the New York Times, all the digital work that we do is how the news gets out, so we deserve a more equal share of that profit," Duncan said. "We don’t take the timing lightly… we would much rather be working our jobs."
Times programs manager Michelle Esposito said Times honchos will quickly realize the value of tech workers if the paper’s famous "Election Needle" and other critical features aren’t working on election night.
"There has been this narrative that it’s all about the mission and the journalism, but I don’t know if you’ve seen the letters of support from the journalism unit, they often say, ‘They can’t do their work without ours,’" Esposito said.
"This contract fight is really about recognizing the value that we deliver as tech workers to the New York Times in earnest," she added. "They don’t recognize that value, we’ve kind of been sidelined, so we’re fighting for a fair deal that recognizes the value that we create and that why this was the time that made sense."
According to the Times, negotiations went late into Sunday and there were still disagreements over issues like a "just cause" provision that would prevent termination for reasons unrelated to misconduct, as well as pay raises and return-to-office policies. Times management told workers on Sunday it had offered a 2.5% annual wage hike, a 5% pay increase minimum for promotions and a $1,000 ratification bonus.
The Tech guild voted to unionize in March 2022.
A New York Times Company spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the newspaper was "disappointed" in the timing of the strike.
"We look forward to continuing to work with the 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," spokesperson Danielle Rhoades-Ha said.
"We’re in one of the most consequential periods of coverage for our readers and have robust plans in place to ensure that we are able to fulfill our mission and serve our readers," she continued. "While we respect the union’s right to engage in protected actions, we're disappointed that colleagues would strike at this time, which is both unnecessary and at odds with our mission."
Fox News Digital’s David Rutz contributed to this report.
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