New York Times Tech Union Goes on Strike, Impacting Election Coverage and Digital Services

The Tech Guild at The New York Times, representing around 600 technology staff members, has initiated a strike just one day before the U.S. presidential election. This decision follows months of negotiations between the guild and Times management that failed to yield a satisfactory contract agreement.

The strike, which began on Monday morning, involves daily protests outside the newspaper’s headquarters. The guild members, including software engineers, product managers, data analysts, and designers, are crucial for managing the backend systems that support the Times’ extensive digital operations. This includes services such as live blogs, mobile alerts, popular games like Wordle and the daily digital crossword, and the renowned election needle.

The strike could significantly impact the Times’ coverage of the presidential election, as well as other critical races across the country. Kait Hoehne, a senior software engineer and member of the Tech Guild, emphasized that the group had hoped to avoid a strike but felt compelled to act due to the lack of progress in negotiations with management. “We are passionate about our work and eager to continue performing it,” Hoehne said. “Unfortunately, we haven’t seen sufficient progress from management, and our bargaining has dragged on for far too long.”.

The guild is urging readers to support the strike by refraining from using certain digital services, such as playing the Times’ games or using the Cooking app. Annie Shields, a campaign leader for the News Guild of New York, encouraged individuals to forgo their streaks in popular games to show solidarity with the striking workers.