Furious tech workers at the New York Times are threatening to strike on Election Day unless bosses meet their long list of outlandish demands.
Union members’ requests include a four-day workweek, higher pay, unlimited sick leave and paid time off for the death of a pet. Blessing defeated.
Workers are also demanding that warnings be issued when the news is discussed, that perfumed products be banned in the break room and that foreign workers with visas keep their jobs in the event of layoffs.
Last week, the Times Tech Guild voted to authorize the strike with 95 percent approval. About half of the union’s members handle election-critical programs.
The union, which represents about 600 technical workers at the Times, said the timing of the strike is “not a coincidence” and is designed to cause maximum disruption.
New York Times tech workers threaten to strike on Election Day unless bosses meet their long list of demands
The dispute has been raging for two years, with some of the guild’s 60-plus proposals in that time violating labor laws, according to the NYT.
The average union member earns $190,000 a year, including salary, bonuses and restricted stock options.
According to the NYT, the demands would cost the newspaper more than $100 million over the proposed three-year contract.
Danielle Rhoads Ha, a spokeswoman for the newspaper, told DailyMail.com that many of the demands are not typical of collective bargaining agreements.
“Since July 2022, negotiations have focused on a wide range of TechGuild’s non-economic proposals, such as bereavement leave for pets, unscented cleaning products, and a ban on machine learning — among many topics not typically covered in collective bargaining agreements,” she said.
“The TechGuild recently submitted their economic proposals. We look forward to working with the group to come up with a fair contract that takes into account that they are already among the highest paid in the company and that journalism is our top priority.”
According to the newspaper, the average salary of a tech worker at the NYT is about $40,000 higher than that of their editorial colleagues.
The Times Tech Guild, led by president Kathy Zhang, is demanding a four-day workweek, unlimited sick leave and job security in light of developments in AI, among other things.
The company also highlighted the various benefits that already exist, such as surrogacy and fertility financing, taxi fares home and wellness programs.
But union members say they are still underpaid compared to industry standards.
“Times management only compares journalists to the Tech Guild when it suits them,” a Tech Guild spokesperson told Semafor.
“In terms of salaries, wages vary widely between the two unions, but we are happy to discuss executive pay compared to employees at the Times.”
The spokesperson added that the union wants guarantees that workers are protected from the influence of AI and machine learning.
The union also wants negotiations to focus on closing the gender pay gap and inequality between white and non-white workers.
However, the NYT claims that after a large-scale investigation, the company found “no evidence of discrimination.”
The union informed Semafor that it wants to eliminate the wage gap between white and non-white employees and between men and women with the collective labor agreement.
The outlet’s bosses say their demands are excessive and could even violate labor laws
Rhoades Ha disputed the guild’s claim, saying the company conducted a wide-ranging investigation and found “no evidence of discrimination.”
“Tech Guild leadership’s claims about gender and racial pay gaps are tied to their methodology, which fails to compare the wages of workers doing similar jobs,” Rhoades Ha said.
She also said union proposals to “refuse work based on advertisers” and the “right to request that letters to the editor not be published” should not be part of the collective bargaining agreement.
The newspaper is concerned that the union, which largely consists of software engineers, is trying to exert editorial control.
DailyMail.com has contacted the New York Times Tech Guild for comment.