1,300 New York Times Employees Refuse To Come To Work, Here's Why

By Tere Scott | Thursday, 15 September 2022 08:30 PM
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1,300 New York Times Employees Refuse To Come To Work, Here's Why

As of Monday, more than 1,300 New York Times employees signed a pledge refusing to return to work. The workers are attempting to get a raise in light of the rising cost of living and the fact they haven’t gotten a raise in more than two years. Additionally, they complain that the top executives are raking in money while doling out company-branded incentives to keep employees happy.

This week, some employees returned to the office to work three days a week in person. Those who returned received NYT branded lunch boxes with no lunch inside as an incentive. One pointed out he would rather receive a raise than swag perks.

Tom Coffey, a 25-year veteran editor who works on the news desk and serves on the union’s Contract Action Committee, said, “People are livid!”

Many employees don’t buy it. A total of 1,316 workers, including 879 members of the News Guild, members of the Tech Guild, and the union for Wirecutter, refused to return to the office.

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The pledge to not return to the office comes after a “flood-the-inbox” campaign where more than 300 journalists sent emails to the New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger, new executive editor Joe Kahn, Opinion editor Kathleen Kingsbury, and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien. Many pointed out that the executive’s pay keeps skyrocketing. One said, “Public filings show that your pay has been going up much more quickly than inflation.”

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Sulzberger received a total package of $3.6 million in 2021 compared to $2.4 million the previous year. Meanwhile, Kopit Levien’s complete package soared to almost $5.8 million, up from $4.4 million last year. Additionally, the company has paid $165 million to shareholders in dividends and stock buybacks since 2020.

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The wage dispute began between the News Guild journalists union and upper management. The News Guild journalists union includes journalists, reporters, photographers, some editors, and business-side employees.

Many workers are upset about returning to the office when gas prices make it less affordable. The negotiating committee offered a 4 percent pay hike. The last pay hike was in March 2020.

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The News Guild demands an 8 percent raise and a 5.25 percent cost-of-living increase. Additionally, the Guild insists that all workers have a choice to work remotely indefinitely with no mandatory return to the office before July 2023.

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