Brian Zak/Sipa Press (via AP)
More than 600 members of the New York Times Tech Guild went on strike just after midnight on Monday in a pivotal move that could shake up the newspaper’s ability to deliver crucial election coverage.
The open-ended walkout by the tech staff, announced at 12:01 a.m., comes after prolonged contract negotiations failed to reach an agreement. The timing of the strike, one day before a major election, is no accident, with the Guild accusing Times management of refusing to make essential concessions.
The Tech Guild, composed of 600 staff members including software engineers, product managers, and data analysts, is critical to maintaining the backend systems that support the Times’ digital infrastructure, from live blogs to mobile alerts and the famed election needle.
Times senior software engineer and Guild member Kait Hoehne told the Washington Post: “We love our jobs and we’re looking forward to being able to do them. But we haven’t seen enough movement from management and we’ve been bargaining for far too long… the ball is in their court.”
Hoehne noted that the heightened election traffic could create “infrastructural ripples in the pond,” impacting systems without skilled engineers to manage them on the fly.
Monday’s strike is rooted in the Guild’s complaints over “unfair labor practices,” particularly management’s return-to-office mandates and alleged interrogations of staff regarding strike plans. In response, Tech Guild members have urged readers to observe a digital picket line by refraining from engaging with Times apps and games.
Over 750 journalists signed a pledge supporting the Guild in solidarity, pressing leadership to finalize a deal.
“We can’t do our jobs without the Tech Guild,” read the statement.
The Times’ report on the strike included a response from Hannah Yang — the company’s chief growth and customer officer — and Jason Sobel, its chief technology officer. Yang and Sobel said, in an email to the tech workers on Sunday night, that management had “a strong offer on the table.”
“We are disappointed that the Tech Guild leadership is attempting to jeopardize our journalistic mission at this critical time,” they said in the email, per the Times.
Further, a Times spokeswoman assured readers its coverage would not be impacting — saying the company had “robust plans in place to ensure that we are able to fulfill our mission and serve our readers.”
