Years-long contract battles at media companies are coming to a head in 2024. Unions from The New York Times, NBC and Forbes have issued warnings to leadership about their intentions during critical events for the company in recent months.
Here's a breakdown of some of the most important moments:
New York Times Technology Syndicate
New York TimesThe ability to provide Election Day coverage and analysis was at risk during Election Week this year as hundreds of disgruntled technology employees at the giant newspaper went on strike in protest of its ongoing conflict with management, citing “unfair labor practices.”
Starting November 4thThe day before the 2024 election, the New York Times Tech union announced it would begin a week-long strike. The tech union voted to unionize in March 2022 and has been in negotiations with leadership for more than two and a half years in an attempt to secure a contract.
The New York Times Tech union went on strike this year over “unfair labor practices.” (Fox News Digital)
The Tech Guild's 600 members are responsible for the back-end systems that support the newspaper's overall digital operations, working across engineering, product, design, data and the project management office.
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During election week, red-clad Times employees marched and chanted outside the newspaper's office in midtown Manhattan with “Scabby,” the giant inflatable rat symbolizing New York City's labor disputes, stationed outside 620 Eighth Avenue.
“We are not a joke, we are not playing,” the union leader told the crowd on November 4.
A company spokesperson told the New York Times earlier Fox News Digital The newspaper is “disappointed” in the timing of the strike.
New York Times Tech Workers Strike (Fox News)
At stake was the Times's famous “election needle,” which would show the likelihood of a Trump or Harris victory. While the needle eventually reached the New York Times website, albeit a little later at night than in previous years, there were no statewide or non-presidential needles on election night.
In addition, because of the strike, IOS News was intermittently running ads, representing a significant loss in revenue for the company, apps and the website were slow to load, and publishing issues resulted in error messages to readers about articles and updates, and to Times subscribers. He received hundreds of thousands of emails containing broken links, according to the NYT Tech Guild announcement.
However, a Times spokesperson called the newspaper's election week coverage “our site's smoothest performance during an election ever,” according to a statement to Fox News Digital.
After a week of strike, tech workers at the New York Times He went back to work Without a contract. but, On December 11thThe NewsGuild of New York, which represents the Times Tech Guild, reached an agreement on a three-year contract after the union's weeklong strike in November.
Members of the New York Times news department stand in solidarity with striking tech employees during Election Day 2024. (Fox News Digital)
NBC Digital Union
NBC digital staff Actions were also taken this year In an attempt to obtain a contract for the newly formed media union. On the evening of November 21, the group displayed scathing messages on 30 Rock, criticizing the company's leadership for failing to fulfill the contract.
NBC Digital called the NewsGuild, a collective bargaining unit of the NewsGuild in New York NBC News The executives were charged with alleged “unlawful conduct” by lighting up “breaking news” messages on the company’s main building in midtown Manhattan.
NBC Digital NewsGuild, which represents reporters, editors, designers, video journalists, animators, social media strategists and editorial staff at NBC News Digital, is negotiating its first contract since the group united in 2019.
Hundreds of New York Times technology employees go on strike before Election Day
The forecast specifically targeted NBCUniversal News Group President Cesar Conde, as well as NBC News Editor-in-Chief Rebecca Blumenstein, Executive Vice President of Programming Janelle Rodriguez, Executive Vice President of News Katherine Kim, and Executive Vice President of TODAY and Lifestyle Libby Leist for participating in the tactics. They say they violated labor laws, including firing more than 20 union journalists without bargaining and retaliating against union members for engaging in protected activity.
“César Conde and his leadership team have a bad habit of breaking the law,” Tate James, a video editor and union leader, told Fox News Digital. “But now he's dealing with a newsroom full of journalists who are sick and tired of working without a contract and trying to go after their bosses in court. NBC News executives are obsessed with shareholder value, but they have no respect for the workers who create that value.” “Value first and foremost, we deserve a fair contract, and we won't back down from this fight until we get it.”
In addition, in 2021, National Labor Relations Board It found that NBC had illegally withheld more than $350,000 in raises from unionized journalists, according to a press release shared with Fox News Digital. The union did not reach an agreement with the union management.
Forbes Consortium
The Forbes Consortium, which was also formed in recent years, He got out of work On December 3, 2024, a crucial day for the company.
The union, which represents the magazine's editorial board, issued a warning to the management, and set the date of its withdrawal on the same day as the famous Forbes “30 Under 30” list, which includes 20 lists of 30 influential people under the age of 30. Seniors recognized for their achievements in various industries.
Union members, who said they are fighting for fair wages, reductions on the force and severance protections, said: Fox News Digital That administration has been stalling at the negotiating table for nearly three years.
The Forbes union called on the company to stop “unlawfully and unilaterally” withdrawing people from the bargaining unit.
A Forbes Consortium spokesperson told Fox News Digital that management incorrectly claimed that some members of the Forbes Consortium are “management” and, as a result, should not be part of the consortium. The union said this tactic is a common anti-union practice, which it is fighting with an unfair labor practice charge due to management's misclassification of members, in an attempt to diminish the Forbes union.
Forbes Union strike for three days in January 2024 (Forbes Consortium)
Union members spoke with Fox News Digital about the timing of the strike, which coincided with the company's launch of the “30 Under 30” list to highlight the work it takes to put out the lists.
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“The Under 30 list is a really notable list for Forbes. It gets a lot of attention from us,” said Andrea Murphy, unit chief and statistics editor at Forbes. “But it takes the work of every team in the newsroom, and months and months of work to put a list like this together.”
“The range is intense,” she added. “There's really not a single part of the newsroom that isn't involved in this, so we felt like coming out on this day to highlight just how much work it takes to do this level of journalism day in and day out. We basically want to use some of the attention and spotlight that this list is getting.” Every year, we shed a little of it on our contractual battle.”
Forbes Union strike for three days in January 2024 (Forbes Consortium)
Murphy said management was dragging its feet and suspected this was a tactic used by companies to reduce enthusiasm for the union by “walking slowly” in the contract battle.
She added: “Of course, they don't tell us that when we sit at the negotiating table.” “They claim they were doing it in good faith all along.”
The union did not reach a contract with Forbes management.
Fox News Digital's David Rutz, Brian Flood and Nick Lannom contributed to this report.
