Tech workers at The New York Times staged a walkout Monday afternoon to protest the company’s return-to-office policy. The Times’ Tech Guild represents more than 600 staffers. The Guild says that the Times’ remote-work policies violate the terms set when their union was ratified in 2022. But a Times spokesperson told Axios’ Sara Fischer that the company’s return-to-office policies were introduced before the Tech Guild was recognized.
While the union has been recognized by the Times, the two sides have not agreed to a contract.
Kathy Zhang, unit chair for the Tech Guild, said in a statement, “The Times is now not only refusing to recognize our rights to bargain on return to office but is now going a step further and using it as a tactic to intimidate us. (Monday’s) work stoppage is to send The Times' senior leadership a strong, unmistakable message: We will not stand by and allow you to trample on our rights.”
A Times spokesperson told Fischer, “We believe that allowing people the flexibility to work together in the office at times and remotely at other times benefits everyone by ensuring that we maintain the strong, collaborative environment that has come to define our culture and drive our success. We want to ensure that The Times remains an attractive destination for tech talent for years to come and are committed to working with the TechGuild to quickly reach a contract that we can all be proud of.”
Fortune’s Josh Eidelson wrote, “Workers have been in contract talks with Times management for 15 months, and said the company has been dragging its feet in negotiations while trying to curb their ability to work from home. US National Labor Relations Board prosecutors have concluded that the company violated federal law by unilaterally implementing a return-to-office plan and failing to negotiate with the union over it, according to Kayla Blado, a spokesperson for the board.”
But, Eidelson added, “Danielle Rhoades Ha, a New York Times spokesperson, denied wrongdoing and said the company had been following government guidance on Covid-19 protocol, adding that no NLRB members or judges have ruled against the company’s approach. She said Times management has been meeting regularly for contract talks with the guild, and has offered to meet more frequently in smaller groups, rather than the guild issuing invitations to the entire membership to attend.”
Readers: ‘Say the word’
In Monday’s newsletter, I wrote how CNN’s Jake Tapper delivered a scathing on-air commentary on Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene for filing a resolution that would censure Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib. Greene accused Tlaib of “antisemitic activity, sympathizing with terrorist organizations and leading an insurrection at the United States Capitol Complex.”
Tapper’s smart and passionate commentary pointed out the hypocrisy of someone such as Greene suggesting that Tlaib’s actions were leading an insurrection.
Tapper finished his commentary by talking about how “antisemitism is not a cudgel to be used against people for political points.” Then he talked about what is going on in Gaza and Israel and cursed, saying, “This (expletive) is not a game.”
I received a handful of emails on Monday from readers questioning and, well, complaining about me writing “expletive” instead of the word Tapper actually used. The gist of the complaints: We’re all grown-ups here. It’s highly unlikely that any kids are reading this media newsletter. Why not tell us exactly what Tapper said?
I understand the sentiment. Maybe the old newspaperman in me tends to lean conservative when it comes to salty language in my column. My response on Monday was that everyone knew exactly what word Tapper used without me saying it, so the reader wasn’t missing anything. In addition, I provided a link to the actual video, so readers could have actually heard exactly what Tapper said.
I’ll also add this: Tapper used the word for effect — an exclamation point to his critical comments. But there’s a danger in this. Purposely cursing on air is kind of a big deal for a journalist. You never want it to become performative. You only have so many times you can do something like that. I can’t help but wonder if Tapper wasted one of those few times on someone like Greene.
His commentary was so well thought out and he didn’t need the extra impact of a curse word. His smart take, and not his use of a curse, is why I wrote about what he said in the first place.
I’m a fan of Tapper. I think he is a really intelligent anchor who isn’t afraid to dip his toes into punditry and opinion that is backed by facts and reasoning. You’d just hate to think that the full impact of what he said for the first three minutes of his commentary was at all lessened in the final sentence.
This brings me back to my newsletter and curse words. My belief is that if you are going to curse in places where those words are typically frowned upon or rarely seen, then you need to pick your spots. And speaking only for myself and this newsletter, Monday wasn’t one of those moments.
Trump throwing rocks
Former President Donald Trump likes to make fun of current President Joe Biden, mocking him for his age and what he says is Biden’s slipping mental capabilities.
The New York Times’ Michael C. Bender and Michael Gold write that Trump does imitations of Biden: “With droopy eyelids and mouth agape, Mr. Trump stammers and mumbles. He squints. His arms flap. He shuffles his feet and wanders laggardly across the stage. A burst of laughter and applause erupts from the crowd as he feigns confusion by turning and pointing to invisible supporters, as if he does not realize his back is to them.”
But something else has happened in recent weeks on the campaign trail. It’s Trump who often fouls up facts while speaking. He thanked the folks of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, even though he was in Sioux City, Iowa. He has slurred and mumbled words at times, seemed to have trouble reading the teleprompter and has bizarrely said he defeated Barack Obama in an election.
Bender and Gold write, “It is unclear if Mr. Trump’s recent slips are connected to his age. He has long relied on an unorthodox speaking style that has served as one of his chief political assets, establishing him, improbably, among the most effective communicators in American politics. But as the 2024 race for the White House heats up, Mr. Trump’s increased verbal blunders threaten to undermine one of Republicans’ most potent avenues of attack, and the entire point of his onstage pantomime: the argument that Mr. Biden is too old to be president.”
For the record, Trump turned 77 in June. Biden turns 81 in November.
The Times points out that recent polls show that two out of three voters think Biden is too old to serve another term, while only half say the same about Trump. But, they added, “If that gap starts to narrow, it’s Mr. Trump who has far more to lose in a general-election matchup.”
Certainly Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has a stake in all this, running against Trump to be the Republican nominee for president, but he told reporters last week, “This is a different Donald Trump than 2015 and ’16 — lost the zip on his fastball. In 2016, he was freewheeling, he’s out there barnstorming the country. Now, it’s just a different guy. And it’s sad to see.”
Media tidbits
