Journalists at the New York Times Co.’s Wirecutter unit plan to strike during the product review website’s peak traffic period around Black Friday, reports Josh Eidelson of Bloomberg News.
Eidelson reports, “Over 90% of Wirecutter union members have voted to authorize a work stoppage lasting one or more days in late November, according to the NewsGuild, which represents around 1,300 other editorial and business workers at the Times. Two years ago the union secured recognition at Wirecutter as well. Black Friday is Nov. 26 this year, the day after the Thanksgiving holiday, when retailers count on a huge bump in holiday shopping.”
Read more here.
From the NewsGuild release: “Members are protesting an unfair labor practice against management’s failure to provide complete information required to negotiate over wages. The issues at stake in the contract fight include higher pay minimums, annual guaranteed raises, caps on increases to healthcare costs, and banning non-disclosure agreements for cases of harassment and discrimination.
“‘In the two years we’ve been in bargaining, Wirecutter’s revenue and readership has grown enormously, and still the Times is nickel-and-diming its editorial staff—we have many union members who do more and earn less than I did in my first big media job fifteen years ago.’ says Tim Heffernan, senior staff writer at the site. ‘A contract would ensure that we have a real say in our compensation and in our future at the Times.'”
