Journalists and other employees of the New York Times are on 24-hour strike
Journalists and other employees of the New York Times are on 24-hour strike
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New York: New York Times employees, including hundreds of journalists, began a 24-hour walkout on Thursday, the first such strike at the publication in more than 40 years.

The Newsguild of New York newsroom staff and other union members claim they are tired of protracted negotiations since their previous contract expires in March 2021. More than 1,100 workers will stop work for 24 hours, starting at 12:01 a.m. ET. Thursday, according to a union announcement made last week, unless the two sides come to a contract agreement.

"Workers are now officially off the job, the first of this magnitude at the company in four decades," NewsGuild tweeted Thursday morning. Giving up a job you love is never an easy choice, but our members are prepared to go the extra mile to make the newsroom better for everyone.

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Tuesday and some of Wednesday were devoted to talks, but the parties were still at loggerheads over issues such as pay increases and policies governing remote employment.

The union tweeted on Wednesday night that an agreement has not been reached and a walkout is underway. It added: "We were prepared to work longer hours to reach a fair agreement, but management left the table with five hours left."

We are aware of our value, the union continued.

However, a spokeswoman for The New York Times, Danielle Rhodes Ha, claimed in a statement that they were still in talks when she learned of the strike.

He expressed dismay that they were acting in such a harsh manner when there was no standoff.

There remained uncertainty about how Thursday's reporting would be affected, but the fast-paced live-news desk, which covers breaking news for the digital paper, is among the strike's supporters. Activists held a rally in front of the newspaper's Times Square offices for that afternoon.

According to Rhodes Ha of The Associated Press, the company has "concrete plans" for publishing content, including using foreign journalists and other journalists who are not union members.

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Deputy managing editor Cliff Levy called the planned strike "troubling" and "a volatile moment in negotiations over a new contract" in a note sent to guild-represented employees Tuesday night. He said it would be the first strike by the bargaining unit since 1981 and that it came "despite the company's growing efforts to make progress."

However, NewsGuild claimed in a letter signed by more than 1,000 workers that management had been "dragging its feet" in contract negotiations for almost two years and that "time is running out to reach a fair contract" by the end of the year. .

NewsGuild further claimed that the employer informed workers who planned to strike that they would not be paid during the strike. In order to complete their work before the strike, the members were also reportedly asked to give them extra time.

Other, smaller walkouts have occurred at The New York Times in recent years, including a half-day demonstration in August by a newly formed union representing technology workers complaining of unfair labor practices.

One significant development, which was praised by both parties, was the company's withdrawal of its proposal to replace the current adjustable pension plan with an improved 401(k) retirement plan. The Times proposed that the union choose one of two options instead. The business also agreed to extend benefits for fertility treatments.

The business has also offered a 5.5% increase in pay upon approval of the contract, followed by 3% increases in 2023 and 2024, according to Levy. This would exceed the 2.2% annual increase in the contract that was about to expire.

A union representative and finance reporter named Stacey Cowley said the union is demanding a 10% wage increase upon ratification to make up for increases not given in the last two years.

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He said that while the company wants the right to call employees back to the office full-time, the union wants contract workers to be guaranteed the option of working remotely for a period of time if their role allows it. According to Cowley, the Times has asked employees to work three days a week, but many are coming in less frequently as an informal protest.

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