Big news for the eleven people left that still read print media! The New York Times announced that more than 1100 employees are set to go on a 24-hour strike starting on Thursday. It’s shocking that there are 1100 people even working in the newspaper business, let alone that the Times employs more than that. However, the Times and the union have not been able to strike a deal on wages and benefits, leading the entitled ‘journalists” to walk out.
More than 1,100 New York Times employees are set to go on a 24-hour strike that begins on Thursday, December 8, at midnight, following the company’s failure to reach an agreement with the Times’ union.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and others are encouraging readers not to “cross the digital picket line” and boycott the Times for 24 hours while the union workers are on strike.
If not crossing the digital picket line means not reading the Times, count me in. Many Americans prefer not to be lied to and manipulated on a daily basis. We already have an administration in Washington dedicated to that.
According to Times CEO Meredith Kopit Levien’s email, the NewsGuild represents newsroom employees as well as some working in advertising and other areas.
“This will be the bargaining unit’s first strike in more than 40 years. It’s disappointing that they’re taking such drastic action, given the clear commitment we’ve shown to negotiate our way
to a contract that provides Times journalists with substantial pay increases, market-leading benefits, and flexible working conditions,” Levien wrote.
Just in: New York Times CEO @meredith_levien confirms in all staff email that members of the NewsGuild will go on a 24-hour strike Thursday. "It’s disappointing that they’re taking such drastic action," she emails newsroom. pic.twitter.com/ZD1iJ5aP5f
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) December 8, 2022
More than 40 percent of the Times’ profits come from print media, which is a sharply declining, outdated format. While the Times seems to know that, the union and employees refuse to acknowledge the reality of their industry. Despite that, the difference in demands is significant.
Compensation remains the most contentious aspect of the negotiations. The Times has offered union members a 5.5 percent raise upon ratification of the contract, 3 percent raises in 2023 and 2024, and a 4 percent retroactive bonus to compensate for a lack of raises since the contract expired. The union has proposed a 10 percent raise upon ratification, 5.5 percent raises in 2023 and 2024, and an 8.5 percent retroactive bonus.
That’s a substantial offer from a company whose main source of income is bleeding readers on a regular basis. With all the competition from online sources and alternative media, the New York Times is a dinosaur waiting on a meteor.
Levien mentioned that 40% of the company’s profits come from print — which, as most people are well aware — is on the decline.
She also touched on the company’s plans to continue to “meet our obligation to our readers and the general public by reporting the news as fully as possible through any disruption caused by a strike.”
Sounds like it is going to be business as usual at the Times despite the walkout. Perhaps the Times employees should be grateful that they are offered anything. After all, their biased reporting is largely responsible for the economic mess the country is in right now. The Times is the most leftist of papers and backed this clown show of an administration while dragging Donald Trump at every opportunity. Perhaps these employees need to live with the tough times they helped create.
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