NYT tech workers to walk out in protest of return-to-office policies

Axios ^ | October 30, 2023 | Sara Fischer

[DoodleBob]

Tech workers at the New York Times plan to walk out Monday afternoon to protest the company's return-to-office policy.

Why it matters: The Times' Tech Guild, which represents more than 600 staffers, is trying to negotiate its first contract with management after voting to unionize in March 2022.

Catch up quick: The guild has argued that new remote-work policies violate the terms and conditions set when their union was ratified in 2022.

• A Times spokesperson told Axios in August that the company's return-to-office policies were introduced before the Tech Guild was recognized.
• The New York Times Guild, which represents the majority of the Times' newsroom workers, joined the Times Tech Guild in sending cease-and-desist letters to management in August over the issue.

Details: The Tech Guild — which includes nearly 700 software engineers, data analysts, project managers, product managers and designers — will begin to walk out at 1 pm ET, according to a statement from the NewsGuild.

• They will hold a rally, followed by an afternoon of picketing around The Times' building.
• Remote workers will sign off at 1 pm to participate in a digital rally and picket via Zoom.
• A spokesperson for the NewsGuild said roughly 500 people are expected to participate, both in-person and through Zoom.

What they're saying: "The Times is now not only refusing to recognize our rights to bargain on return to office but is now going a step further and using it as a tactic to intimidate us," The Tech Guild's unit chair, Kathy Zhang, said in a statement.

• "This afternoon's work stoppage is to send The Times' senior leadership a strong, unmistakable message: We will not stand by and allow you to trample on our rights."

The other side: "We believe that allowing people the flexibility to work together in the office at times and remotely at other times benefits everyone by ensuring that we maintain the strong, collaborative environment that has come to define our culture and drive our success," a Times spokesperson told Axios in a statement.

• "We want to ensure that The Times remains an attractive destination for tech talent for years to come and are committed to working with the TechGuild to quickly reach a contract that we can all be proud of."

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

but won’t walk out to the car and drive TO the job and pay a high toll to take the tunnel and risk getting carjacked and then risk getting mugged and beaten on the way to the building.

You're right. They're lazy bums. They should take their beatings and muggings and carjackings like a man!

[XRdsRev]

“….private sector has ways of making sure that their home workers are producing. The Feds, especially in greater Washingtoooon DC, exert zero discipline on their shirk from home “workers”

That simply is not true. Federal workers usually have to log into some type of Teams account which can tell everyone else on that team if you are online working. Anyone on teams can call or chat you through the computer at any time, so if you do not answer, you better have a good explanation.

[SheepWhisperer]

and pay a high toll to take the tunnel and risk getting carjacked and then risk getting mugged and beaten on the way to the building
...
You mean like they did for ten years before the scamdemic and lockdowns? Like they do when they go to dinner parties, movies, family gatherings and everywhere else in life?

The truth is they’ve gotten spoiled and now claim their entitlement to be life long.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

The crime and viciousness in these Soros-Democrat-run cities has ramped way up in recent years. These cities are dumps and should be avoided whenever possible. People who go into them for entertainment should, as they say, enter at their own risk.

[minnesota_bound]

How much does it cost to drive into New York and then back home every day?
Those bridge tolls and parking costs must be huge let alone the time it takes to work car or by train and bus.