The New York Times staff asks readers not to play their game during union strikes

Tech workers at the New York Times are currently on strike and have asked readers for solidarity by not playing any of the newspaper's games.

“Our members know their worth and will demonstrate it on the picket line today,” wrote the Times Technology Guild. “[We] ask readers to honor the digital picket line and not play popular new york times games like Words AND Connectionsas well as not using the New York Times cooking app.”

In its statement, the Guild claims management “failed to meaningfully address” issues raised by workers ahead of tomorrow's US presidential election. These “key issues” included “remote/hybrid work protections, “just cause” employment protections (which the editorial board has had for decades), limits on subcontracting, and fair/fair pay.”

The Tech Guild also alleged that its leadership committed “numerous violations of the law” during initial negotiations, including forced return mandates without bargaining, and reportedly intimidated workers about their strike intentions. As a result, the union “filed unfair labor practice charges against the Times for these tactics.”

If the union fails to reach an agreement with New York Times management by the end of today, November 4, it will mark the first strike “in conjunction with a presidential election in the NewsGuild since the Detroit newspaper strike of 1964.”

This is the smell of work in the air

Game studios have made great strides in protecting workers in recent years. Most of these actions have gave rise to trade unions developers like it 2K, Saw of AmericaAND Snowstorm. Both inside and outside of unionized studios, these workers have also gone on strike to gain specific protections against mandates to return to office AND Generative AI.

The New York Times games are extremely popular, and the outlet's syndicate asking readers to help them by not playing games is a big ask for subscribers. In a statement to Polygonthe Times itself said it was “[committed] work with the Tech Guild to reach a fair contract that takes into account that they are already among the Company's highest-paid individual contributors and that journalism is our top priority.”

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

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