More than 1,000 reporters and other New York Times employees got started after midnight Wednesday through Thursday historic 24-hour strikethe first of its kind in the newspaper in more than 40 years.
The measure of strength came after they failed to reach an agreement with the company to raise wages, according to their union.
The New York Guild Newsthe union representing the striking workers said a major point of friction was management’s refusal to raise wages consistent with high inflation.
“Over 1,100 New York Times workers are officially on strike, the first of this scale at the company in four decades,” the union tweeted early Thursday morning.
New York Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha told US media in a statement that the negotiations they weren’t broken and expressed his “disappointment” with this measure as both sides are not yet in “a dead end street”.
Phoebe Lett, podcast producer for the outlet, tweeted: “It’s heartbreaking to be with nearly 1,200 mates who sacrifice everything for the good of this place by humbly asking @nytimes to show us that you appreciate us. But here we are.”
Newsroom employees and other members of The NewsGuild in New York said they are fed up with the haggling that has dragged on since their last contract expired. in March 2021.
The union announced last week that more than 1,100 employees would arrange a 24-hour work stoppage starting at 00:01 on Thursday unless the two sides reach a contractual agreement.
“It’s never an easy decision to say no to doing the job you love, but our members are willing to do whatever it takes to win better newsroom for all“, He added.
The negotiations
The negotiations took place last Tuesday and part of Wednesday. However, the parties have remained very different on issues such as pay increases and remote work policies.
Finally, on Wednesday evening, the union stated via Twitter that no agreement had been reached and that the strike was going ahead: “We were ready to work as long as it would take to reach a fair agreement, but management walked away from the table“.
“We know our worth,” the union added.
In the closing hours of Wednesday it was unclear how this Thursday’s coverage would be affected. strike supporters including live news desk members, breaking news coverage for web newspaper.
Employees have scheduled a meeting for the next few hours in front of the newspaper’s offices near Times Square.
The union and the management of the famous New York newspaper are in negotiations for nearly a year and a halfbut without having reached an acceptable compromise.
The union says the management is firm they want to cut contributions to health care to all employees and abolish minimum wages for new hires.
“We ask readers not to log into any New York Times platform tomorrow (by Thursday) and join us in the digital picket!” the union tweeted.
Agencies
Source: Clarin
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.