New York Times journalists, other employees on 24-hour strike

Hundreds of journalists and other members of the workforce at The New York Times began a 24-hour walkout in what would be the first strike of its kind at the newspaper in over 40 years.

Newsroom employees and other members of The NewsGuild of New York say they are fed up with bargaining that has dragged on since their last contract expired in March 2021.

The union announced last week that over 1,100 employees would stage a 24-hour work stoppage starting at 12:01 am Thursday unless the two sides reach a contract deal.

The NewsGuild tweeted Thursday morning that workers were now officially on work stoppage, the first of this scale at the company in 4 decades. They added that it was never an easy decision to refuse to do work you love, but their members were willing to do what it takes to win a better newsroom for all.

On Wednesday evening the union announced via Twitter that a deal had not been reached and the walkout was happening. The NewsGuild said they were ready to work for as long as it took to reach a fair deal but the NY Times management walked away from the table with five hours to go.

But Danielle Rhoades Ha, the New York Times spokesperson, said in a statement that they were still in negotiations when they were told that the strike was happening.