Hundreds of journalists and other employees at the New York Times began a 24-hour walkout on Thursday, the first strike of its kind at the newspaper in more than 40 years.
Newsroom employees and other members of the NewsGuild of New York said they are fed up with bargaining that has dragged on since their last contract expired in March 2021. The union announced last week that more than 1,100 employees would stage a 24-hour work stoppage starting at 12:01 a.m. Thursday unless the two sides could reach a contract deal.
The NewsGuild tweeted Thursday morning that workers “are now officially on work stoppage, the first of this scale at the company in 4 decades. It’s never an easy decision to refuse to do work you love, but our members are willing to do what it takes to win a better newsroom for all.”
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Negotiations took place on Tuesday and some of Wednesday, but the sides remained far apart on wages, remote work policies, and the company’s employee evaluation system, which the union said is vulnerable to racial bias.
On Wednesday evening, the union said via Twitter a deal had not been reached and that the walkout would happen.
“We were ready to work for as long as it took to reach a fair deal, but management walked away from the table with five hours to go,” the union said. “We know what we’re worth.”
But New York Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha said in a statement that the sides were still in negotiations when the company was told that the strike was happening.
“It is disappointing that they are taking such an extreme action when we are not at an impasse,” she said.
Rhoades Ha told the Associated Press that the company has “solid plans in place” to continue producing content, including relying on international reporters and other journalists who are not union members.
The newspaper’s executive editor, Joe Kahn, wrote in an email to the newsroom that Thursday’s report would be “robust” but that producing it would “will be harder than usual,” the New York Times reported in its own story on the strike.
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Employees were planning a rally for Thursday afternoon outside the newspaper’s offices near Times Square. The union negotiating the contract represents reporters, editors, and employees in advertising and other areas.
The strike’s supporters include members of the fast-paced live news desk, which covers breaking news for the digital publication.
