Strike in New York

More than 1,100 of The New York Times' 1,800 employees will take part in a day-long strike on Thursday, 8 December, protesting a long lack of agreement between the union and the publication.

Newsroom staff and other members of The NewsGuild from New York said they were fed up with the bargaining that has dragged on since their last contract expired in March 2021.

In a statement on Wednesday night, the union accused The Times of unfair trade.

"Your wage offer is still lagging behind economic momentum and is well behind both inflation and the average wage growth rate in the US," the union said in a strike announcement.

In a message to the newsroom, Times editor-in-chief Joe Kahn said he was disappointed with the union's decision.

Compensation remains the most contentious aspect of the negotiations. The Times offered union members a 5.5% pay rise after the contract was ratified, a 3% pay rise in 2023 and 2024 and a 4% retroactive bonus to compensate for missing pay rises after the contract expired. The union proposed a 10% increase at ratification, a 5.5% increase in 2023 and 2024, and an 8.5% retroactive bonus.

Other topics that were discussed during the negotiations were return to work and the company's employee evaluation system. In a study published in August, the union said the system was discriminatory.

After the union published the report, a group of senior managers at The Times explored ways to improve the appraisal process. In October, senior editor Marc Lacey announced plans to update it.

During the strike, non-union staff will be mainly responsible for producing the news.

Amid a downturn in advertising and an uncertain economic outlook, some media companies have cut staff in recent weeks, including CNN, BuzzFeed and the Gannett newspaper chain.

During talks with The Times, union representatives argued that reporters and editors were struggling with inflation as the company made significant operating profits.

Meredith Kopit Levien, chief executive of The Times, wrote in an email to the entire company that the investment in news reporting had led to many journalists getting high-paying, secure jobs. She said profits have not reached the levels of a few decades ago.

As the paper notes, the last time its staff went on strike for more than one day was in 1981.