New York Times journos, employees go for 24hr strike on Thursday
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New York: Inside the newsroom of the American legacy newspaper 'The New York Times', hundreds of journalists and other employees started a 24-hours strike on Thursday, a first in 40 years, Associated Press reported.
The reason behind the move is that journalists are fed up with bargaining that has dragged on since their last contract expired in March 2021, sources from NewsGuild said.
Last week, the union announced the strike by more than 1,100 employees, stopping work for 24 hours from 12:01 am on Thursday.
Though negotiations went for more than 12 hours into late Tuesday and continued Wednesday, the gap between sides stayed wide without reaching a consensus. The demands include wage increases and remote-work policies.
Employees are planning a rally for Thursday afternoon outside the newspaper's offices near Times Square, while how the daily routine of the newsdesk, particularly the fast-paced live-news desk, which covers breaking news for the digital paper, is uncertain.
Meanwhile, New York Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha told Associated Press that the company has back plans to run the house during the strike.
"While we are disappointed that the NewsGuild is threatening to strike, we are prepared to ensure The Times continues to serve our readers without disruption," the spokesperson said in a statement.
A particular demand by the union is that it wants the contract to guarantee employees the option to work some of the time remotely if their roles allow for it, but the company wants the right to recall workers to the office full-time. Cowley said the Times had required its staff to be in the office three days a week, but many have been showing up fewer days in an informal protest, AP reports.