Striking New York Times Tech Workers Discuss Impact on Election Coverage: “No Contract, No Needle”

NEW YORK-The New York Times tech workers' strike entered its second day on Tuesday, as hundreds of employees picketed and chanted for a fair contract. That left questions about how the country's largest newspaper could digitally cover the biggest news day of the year.

“We'd like to get back to work, but the company isn't really giving us a contract that adequately reflects the work we do in every election,” Jeff Sisson, a Times engineer and Tech Guild member, told Fox News Digital in front of the building's headquarters Tuesday.

The 600 Tech Guild members, who control the back-end systems that drive the newspaper's extensive digital operations, went on strike at midnight on Monday when they failed to reach a contractual agreement.

Several union members told Fox News Digital that they have been working on an agreement with Times leadership for more than two years and it is unclear what the paper's website will look like on election night, if Americans elect either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris as president .

NEW YORK TIMES STAFF CONCERNED NEWSPAPER DIDN'T STRETCH TRUMP HARD ENOUGH WITH COVERAGE OF 'SANEWASHING': REPORT

During the strike, the Times' well-known election pin, which shows a candidate's chances of winning based on current numbers and future projections, may not be published on the site as the technology team is responsible for the necessary infrastructure and data.

Members of the New York Times news department expressed solidarity with tech workers striking on Election Day 2024. (Fox News Digital)

On Tuesday evening, the NewsGuild union wrote to

Goran Svorcan-Merola, a senior software engineer at the Times and a member of the Tech Guild's negotiating committee, said he and his union colleagues were eager to reach an agreement before the election.

“We made an offer to management on Sunday, but we hadn't heard from them and haven't heard from them since,” he said. “We hope they come back to the table, but nothing yet. We have serious concerns about their latest counterattack on us.”

“I'm sure they're talking to someone, but it's not us,” he added.

Members also told Fox News Digital that they would continue striking beyond Election Day until an agreement was reached, but Svorcan-Merola reiterated that they were always available to negotiate.

Despite the election week deadline, Svorcan-Merola said they gave management plenty of time to reach an agreement before this week and that they did not take the decision to strike lightly.

“We wanted to give management more time to reach an agreement. But the election is a time when our members are extremely stressed,” he said. “We want to show that this is a big night for our work, that this is a big night for our work, and if you want us there, you have to give us a fair offer.”

Sisson, chief engineer of storytelling and publications at the Times, said the strike was “not a voluntary decision,” adding that he was unsure what the website would look like on election night.

HUNDREDS OF NEW YORK TIMES TECHNOLOGY EMPLOYEES STRIKE AHEAD OF ELECTION DAY

A New York Times tech strike poster. (Fox News Digital)

“It’s a big secret,” he said. “Nobody knows. I think this is a risk that I and my colleagues are very aware of. As I said, we didn't want it to come to that. I can’t quite predict what will happen.”

But it could be business as usual, Sisson said.

“I think the secrecy is part of the risk here,” he said. “We are not used to conducting elections like this. I've worked here and covered, I think, three presidential elections. Suffice to say, this is not a typical choice for us, and we are very aware of that.”

Sisson said he and his colleagues are demanding fair pay, flexibility in remote work and protection from termination with a “just cause” clause that News Guild members have in their contracts.

“Some of this suggests they believe they can operate without us, but we're all about to find out exactly what that looks like on election night, which is one of the biggest nights of the year for The New York Times goes,” he said.

Stacy Cowley, a business reporter for the Times, said the Tech Guild is fighting for many of the protections that have been given to the News Guild for generations.

“The Tech Guild has been fighting for this for two and a half years and the company has refused for two and a half years to give them the exact same job protections that we always had in our contract,” she said. “This is really unconscionable.”

NYT plagiarism consultant admits Harris scandal is 'more serious' than he thought

A New York Times employee speaks to employees about the ongoing strike. (Fox News Digital)

Cowley said her strike is not about small demands, something the Times touted in its public comment.

“I also think it's an incredibly cynical and malicious standpoint on management's part that they keep talking about things like bereavement leave for pets or unscented products in the washroom,” she said, referring to some reported outlandish demands from guild members about typical requests went beyond such as higher pay. “These were things that were on the table very briefly, took about five minutes of negotiation time, and had been withdrawn and off the table for well over a year. They keep hammering on these points to distract from the things they don't do.” “I don't want to talk about it.”

Cowley also criticized what she called the “hypocritical” attitude of Times management given the paper's history of pro-union reporting and editorials.

“I think it's really sad that they let it get to this point because, again, our tech people did their strike authorization vote on September 10th. They intentionally did this two months in advance with the idea that this would give time to actually come through.” “A deal has been struck,” she said.

“A lot of my colleagues are pretty heartbroken that they're out here today doing this,” she added. “I mean, a lot of our people have spent years developing systems, creating graphics and building the tools for today. They were really excited to be working in the newsroom on Election Day.”

A spokesperson for The New York Times gave Fox News Digital the same statement as the day before, expressing disappointment at the timing of the strike.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“We look forward to continuing to work with Tech Guild to reach a fair contract that recognizes that they are already among the highest paid individual employees in the company and that journalism is our top priority,” the spokesperson said. “We are in one of the most significant reporting periods for our readers and have robust plans in place to ensure we can fulfill our mission and serve our readers.

“While we respect the union’s right to engage in protected action, we are disappointed that colleagues are striking at this time, which is both unnecessary and inconsistent with our mission.”