New York Times tech staffers are threatening a strike during election

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This might be the best thing that ever happened to democracy.

The Times Tech Guild — a union of 600 members, largely software engineers, which operates separately from the newsroom union — voted overwhelmingly to authorize a potential strike, Axios reported earlier this week, dangling the possibility that workers could walk off the job during the election in November.

The threat has rattled the paper’s management, including some leaders in the newsroom, which relies heavily on tech. The paper receives peak volumes of traffic around the elections, including on specialty products such as its election needle.

If you recall, NYT writers walked off the job for a day back in 2022 and the demands were absolutely absurd.

Guess what the tech team is demanding now?

Management says that the Guild has bogged down negotiations with what the paper sees as outlandish, even illegal, proposals. As Semafor previously reported, the Guild proposed a ban on scented products in break rooms, unlimited break time, and accommodations for pet bereavement, as well as mandatory trigger warnings in company meetings discussing events in the news.

You can’t make it up.

Then there’s the illegal stuff.

Times management has been frustrated by proposals that would provide more money for nonwhite staff and others from underrepresented communities to attend conferences, and language that would prioritize non-citizens in the US on visas in the case of layoffs — both of which the paper pointed out couldn’t be fulfilled because they likely violate employment laws.

Prejudice against white people and American citizens is all the rage these days, NYT. What, are you gonna let a few laws get in the way of #Progress??

Oh, did I mention they want to only work 4 days a week but get a bunch of extra pay and bonuses for it?

The Guild has put forward a number of proposals that management has balked at in totality, including a four-day work week coupled with significant increases in pay, full coverage of all health care premiums for employees and family members, guaranteed RSU grants for all members of the unit, and non-performance-based annual bonuses, all of which the company estimates would cost over $100 million over three years.