New York Times tech workers to strike over return-to-office rules: report

Tech workers at the New York Times plan to strike for half a day on Monday, accusing the publisher of attempting to unilaterally force them back to the office, Bloomberg News reported Monday.

The stoppage of work will start at 1 p.m. ET and the union will hold demonstrations on Zoom and outside the media company’s headquarters in Manhattan where some will wear Halloween costumes, the report said.

The union did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Tech workers at the union have been in contract talks with the company for over a year, and said that the Times has tried to curb their ability to work from home, according to the Bloomberg report.

“We believe that allowing people the flexibility to work together in the office at times and remotely at other times benefits everyone,” a New York Times spokesperson said, adding that the National Labor Relations Board had not ruled against its approach.

The New York Times issued its return-to-office policy before the tech guild was recognized early last year, when workers voted 404-88 to join the NewsGuild of New York, making it the largest tech union in the US with bargaining rights.