Hello and welcome to The Table, a zine produced by members of the Times Guild, the Wirecutter Union and the Times Tech Guild. Have a seat.
CORRECTING THE RECORD ON PARENTAL LEAVE
At the company all-hands on July 15th, chief human resources officer, Jacqui Welch, responded to a question from Jacob Meschke, who had registered his dismay at the company’s plan to offer enhanced parental leave benefits only to employees who are not in the Guild.
According to Jacqui:
“When there is a union in place, we are required to negotiate with that union on any terms or conditions of employment. That's a technical term that includes things like pay and benefits under the law. The company can't make changes to something like parental leave, even if it's an improvement, without negotiating with the union. As we said in Tuesday's announcement, we would like to apply our enhanced 20-week parental policy broadly… We have proposed providing the same potential benefits to Guild-represented Times employees, and we hope to hear back from the union on this.”
This is inaccurate. According to a 2013 agreement negotiated between the Guild and the company, the company is required to extend any improvements to our members if it amends the parental leave policy.
Additionally, in the July 15th bargaining session, we made it clear that we have no objection to management implementing these parental leave policy changes for our members while we continue to negotiate, and we asked them to do so. Management did not respond. There was no delay in “hearing back from the union” on the issue, in spite of what Jacqui said at the all-hands.
In fact, three months ago, the bargaining committee developed and put forth an original proposal for an expanded and equitable parental leave policy at The New York Times. Only this month did the company break its silence on the issue, when company lawyers proposed to grant Guild members the improved parental leave policy (and, again, we already have the right to that policy) with a huge catch that Jacqui failed to mention in her response. Management wanted us to cede the company power to make any changes to time off and leave benefits—including changes that make benefits worse or eliminate them—without bargaining with us. This is outrageous and unacceptable.
We are dismayed to see our proposal and, ultimately, our families used as a wedge to separate colleagues and take away our rights. In the middle of a union organizing drive, improving working conditions for some employees while denying the same benefits to already-unionized employees is a transparent attempt to discourage and divide.
It’s not working! Times Guild members quickly pointed to the contract language that entitles us to the improved parental leave policy, and we initiated an action (below) to ensure the company does right by all its employees. Since then, the company has reached out with a proposal to settle this. Until we have a deal, let’s follow through with our action and keep speaking out!
🏃 ACTION ITEM, FYI 🏃
We're gathering signatures on a letter to management about the parental leave policy. Please read, and sign if you agree!
All NYT colleagues (not just Guild members) are welcome to sign and express solidarity.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS TO OBSERVE BARGAINING
Management was not pleased that many observers showed up at the last bargaining session to get first-hand experience of negotiations. But it's important to keep our eyes on the process—and it's our right.
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Union members have the right to observe bargaining negotiations. These negotiations directly impact employees’ working conditions.
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Workers cannot be disciplined, threatened, coercively questioned, or discharged for engaging in protected concerted activity.*
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Bargaining observation takes place on members’ own time, including lunch breaks.
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No one has to tell their manager what they do on their lunch break.
*Activity is "concerted" if it is engaged in with or on the authority of other employees. Activity is "protected" if it concerns employees' interests as employees. Read more about Employee Rights in Section 7 & 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act.
What do I do if I get questions from my manager?
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You can share this information and the resources below to inform them of your legal rights!
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You can let them know when you’ll be on your lunch and when you’ll be returning.
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If your manager coercively questions you or retaliates against you for engaging in protected, concerted activity, contact your union representative or someone on your organizing committee.
Resources
https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/the-law/employees/concerted-activity
https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/the-law/interfering-with-employee-rights-section-7-8a1
But why observe bargaining?
As union members, attending bargaining sessions is not just a right — it’s a foundation of collective action that gives us firsthand knowledge of decisions that affect our working conditions. Negotiations in which we hold a stake should not happen behind doors that are closed to us. We should observe bargaining because we are the union.
Attending bargaining sessions is key to engagement—something to which our company has dedicated an entire mission! Union engagement is important, and it can be hard, especially when it comes on top of our day-to-day responsibilities. We should have many opportunities to plug in, and bargaining observation is one of them.
It is a very good thing that, last week, more than two hundred of us cared enough about our shared fate to take the time to observe bargaining. Let’s keep it up!
IT’S ELECTION SEASON FOR THE TIMES TECH GUILD
In a massive act of solidarity, approximately 70% of Times Tech Guild members signed a petition that calls on top management to agree to terms for an expedited online election through the AAA and pledges to vote yes to the union in that election.
On Wednesday, July 21st, the petition reached top management. We await a response.
The unit councils for both the Times Guild and Wirecutter Union shared letters in support of the petition. We hope that our solidarity makes it clear: it is time for a vote and time for a tech union at the New York Times. We are ready!
P.S.: SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM IN BUFFALO
Speaking of solidarity, our colleagues in Western New York could use a boost. Journalists at The Buffalo News are on “byline strike” — taking their names off of graphics, articles and photography in the print edition — in the midst of a fight with Lee Enterprises over management’s threat to outsource design, editing, and customer service. The Buffalo News is an award-winning local paper with beautiful design, and the loss of their work would be deeply felt within the community. Read more about the situation and sign the petition to support local journalism in Buffalo. Across New York State and across the industry, union workers have each other’s back!
P.P.S.: COME ABOARD!
The Table is a collaborative zine made up of members from the Times Tech Guild, the Wirecutter Union, and the Times Guild. It’s an experiment in how we can all talk to each other and make our workplaces better. Please get in touch if you’d like to pitch in with writing, reporting, illustrating, memeing, interviewing, programming, designing, printing or performing any other skill you have. Have an idea? Email thetable.nyt@gmail.com.
Standing together,
The Table
