New York Times tech union threatens to strike ahead of Election Day

Nov 03, 2024

The clock is ticking on the New York Times’ iconic election needle.

The New York Times Tech Guild announced that its members will go on strike ahead of one of the most critical elections in the nation’s history if an agreement isn’t reached on a contract as soon as possible.

The NYT Tech Guild comprises about 700 tech workers, including software engineers, designers, product managers and data analysts who build the newspaper’s most profitable products — like its website, podcasts and games.

In a letter shared Friday on X, the guild said that the Times’ representatives “have demonstrated an unwillingness at the table to be reasonable on key contract demands.” Contract negotiations have entered their third year and a strike was authorized by guild members on Sept. 10, the guild said.

“We want to reach an agreement and believe it is possible with a good faith management partner,” the guild said in the letter. “We have made it clear that we need to reach an agreement before the election in order to avert a strike.” Election Day is on Tuesday.

The guild says it has been fighting for a contract to secure better wages, hours, benefits and job security, as well as foster diversity, equity and inclusion among the organization’s workforce.

The guild has accused Times management of not bargaining in good faith and making inflammatory decisions, like firing employees without just cause and limiting bargaining time in an effort to delay an agreement.

In a statement, the Times said tech guild members "are already among the highest paid individual contributors" within the company, and that a fair contract should reflect that, adding that they believe their proposals for just cause and remote work align with modern NewsGuild contacts.

The NYT also said it has "robust plans in place" to ensure it can take on election coverage, calling the guild's deadline for a fair contract "arbitrary."

"While we respect the union’s right to engage in protected actions, threatening a strike at this time, feels both unnecessary and at odds with our mission," NYT spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha told NBC News.

It’s unclear exactly what the impact on the Times website might be if members of the guild go on strike ahead of Tuesday's election, which pits Vice President Kamala Harris against former President Donald Trump in a tight race. The Times has over 10.8 million digital subscribers, 10.2 million of whom are digital-only subscribers.

Much of the New York Times’ homepage on election night is dominated by graphics and other visual components, including the famous Needle, a data visualization that resembles a car’s speedometer. The Needle shares the paper’s race forecasts, based on a statistical analysis of votes that are counted and estimates of votes to come. An interactive map of the country with states appearing as red or blue also dominates the page as votes are tallied.

Mirna Alsharif is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.