NYT journalists, workers on 24-hour strike for ‘better newsroom’

The New York Times headquarters in New York | Photo Credits: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

Hundreds of journalists and other employees at The New York Times have begun a 24-hour walkout, the first strike of its kind at the newspaper in more than 40 years.

Newsroom employees and other members of The NewsGuild of New York – the union for news professionals in the United States’ media capital – said they were fed up with bargaining that has dragged on since their last contract expired in March 2021.

The union announced last week that more than 1,100 employees would stage a 24-hour work stoppage starting at 12:01am on Thursday [05:01 GMT] unless the two sides reach a contract deal.

The NewsGuild tweeted on Thursday morning that workers “are now officially on work stoppage, the first of this scale at the company in 4 decades”.

“It’s never an easy decision to refuse to do work you love, but our members are willing to do what it takes to win a better newsroom for all,” it said.

Negotiations took place on Tuesday and Wednesday, but the sides remained far apart on issues including wage increases and remote-work policies.

On Wednesday evening, the union said via Twitter that a deal had not been reached and the walkout was happening. “We were ready to work for as long as it took to reach a fair deal,” it said, “but management walked away from the table with five hours to go.

Source: AlJazeera