Workers in the New York Times technology union are reportedly threatening to strike on Election Day with a bizarre list of demands that include pet bereavement leave, a four-day work week and even a ban on air fresheners in break rooms.
The Times Tech Guild's long list of demands during two years of marathon contract negotiations included unlimited sick leave, job security for foreign nationals on U.S. work visas if they are fired and mandatory trigger warnings when discussing news events. Semaphores Reported.
The union, which represents about 600 software engineers and other non-editorial technical employees at The Times, voted to authorize the strike last week, suggesting it could take place during peak traffic periods around the White House contest in November, according to the Paper.
Tech Guild members earn an average annual salary of $190,000, including salary, bonuses and restricted stock options, about $40,000 more than their colleagues in the union that represents the paper's journalists, the company said.
The company says employees already receive $10,000 in subsidies for adoption and surrogacy costs and $50,000 for fertility treatments, as well as discounts on pet, home and auto insurance.
The Times reported that the union's financial demands would cost the company more than $100 million in compensation and benefits over the proposed three-year contract period, Semaphore reported.
The Times reported:[s] “We look forward to working with the group to reach a fair contract, given that they are already the highest-paid employees in the company and that journalism is our top priority,” Times spokeswoman Danielle Rose Ha told The Post on Tuesday.
“Since July 2022, negotiations have focused on a wide range of non-financial proposals from the Tech Guild, including pet bereavement leave, fragrance-free cleaning products, a ban on machine learning and many other topics that are not typically part of collective bargaining agreements.”
TechGuild did not respond to The Washington Post's request for comment.
The union told Semaphore that some of its previous proposals had already been withdrawn or resolved, but did not say which demands were being put on hold. The union accused management of “attempting to distract attention” by making the list of demands public.
Tech workers say that while they make more than editorial staff, their wages pale in comparison to those of company executives.
“Times management only likes to compare its journalists to the Tech Guild when it suits them,” a Tech Guild spokesperson told Semaphore.
“In terms of pay, wages vary widely between the two unions, but we are happy to discuss executive compensation compared to Times workers.”
The union told Semaphore it wants the collective bargaining agreement to address pay disparities between white and non-white employees, and between men and women.
Rose Ha disputed the union's claims, saying the company had conducted an extensive analysis and “found no evidence of discrimination.”
“TechGuild leaders' claims about gender and racial pay disparities have to do with their methodology of not comparing pay for employees doing similar work,” Rose Ha said.
The union is also seeking pay increases for non-white staff to be able to attend meetings, and a clause in the collective bargaining agreement giving priority to foreign nationals in the U.S. on work visas in the event of layoffs – proposals that could violate employment law.
Tech workers also want assurances from management that they will be protected from the rise of artificial intelligence, which threatens to replace humans in the workforce.
The company claims that its technology employees want veto power over which news stories appear in the Times, as well as “the right to turn down work based on advertiser” and “the right to request that letters to the editor not be published.”
The Times said the proposals were “antithetical to our company's standards” and violated “journalistic ethical standards” and “have no place in a collective bargaining agreement.”
