Over 1,000 New York Times journalists and staff walked off the job

Over 1,000 New York Times journalists and staff walked off the job yesterday in the paper’s biggest labor dispute in more than 40 years

https://apnews.com/article/business-strikes-a2020dd96ff08c52cfb1a80577944075

The strike of record

https://www.morningbrew.com/daily/stories/new-york-times-union-strike

Thousands of Wordle streaks came to a screeching halt yesterday as New York Times readers joined in a digital picket line with the 1,100+ unionized employees who staged a 24-hour strike—the paper’s biggest labor dispute in more than 40 years.

The New York Times Guild warned of the walkout last week, claiming that management had been “dragging its feet” in bargaining before a year-end deadline. The union has been tensely negotiating a new agreement with Times management for the last 20 months, with the primary sticking points being wages (which have not kept up with inflation, according to staffers), return-to-office policies, and retirement benefits.

Striking staffers asked readers to avoid engaging with NYT content, including articles, Wordle, the crossword, and The Daily podcast, for the duration of the strike.

While media companies including CNN, BuzzFeed, and Morning Brew have cut staff in recent weeks, citing advertising pullbacks and a tough macroeconomic environment, the Times has remained on offense, acquiring brands like The Athletic and Wordle this year. In its most recent earnings report, the company projected an adjusted operating profit of $320 million–$330 million for 2022.—MK