New York Times Tech Workers to Strike Over Return-to-Office Rules

Hey folks, guess what? Tech workers at the New York Times are planning to go on strike! They’re not happy about the company trying to force them back to the office without any say. Can you believe it? The strike is happening on Monday, and it’s going to be a half-day thing. Around 700 workers are going to join in, and they’re even going to have demonstrations on Zoom and outside the company’s headquarters in Manhattan. And get this, some of them are going to wear Halloween costumes! How cool is that?

Now, here’s the backstory. The New York Times actually came up with their return-to-office policy before the tech workers formed a union. But last year, the workers voted to join the NewsGuild of New York, making them the biggest tech union in the US. Since then, they’ve been in talks with the company about their contract for over a year. But guess what? The Times is refusing to recognize their right to bargain on the return-to-office issue. Not cool, right?

Kathy Zhang, who’s in charge of the union, said that the Times is not only ignoring their rights, but they’re also using this as a way to intimidate them. That’s not right at all. The company spokesperson, on the other hand, says that they believe in giving people the flexibility to work in the office and remotely. They think it benefits everyone. But here’s the thing, the US National Labor Relations Board hasn’t ruled against the company’s approach. So, it’s a bit of a sticky situation.

According to a report, if there’s no settlement, the agency will issue a complaint against the Times. So, we’ll have to wait and see what happens next. Stay tuned for more updates on this strike by the New York Times tech workers!