Striking NY Times Tech Workers Ask People to Stop Playing Wordle & Connections

The New York Times' tech workers who are currently on strike ask people to support them by stopping playing Wordle and Connections, games powered by The New York Times, and not using the NYT Cooking app.

On the day before Elections Day in the US, NY Times employees behind the technology powering the newspaper's website and games went on strike. The work stopped at 12:01 a.m. ET on Monday despite multiple rounds of negotiations and a practice picket.

The workers are asking management to address concerns related to remote and hybrid work, "just cause" protections, which newsroom workers have had "for decades," and "pay equity/fair pay." The Times Tech Guild, which includes 600 workers, has filed unfair labor practice charges against the company. The alleged labor law violations include "implementing return-to-office mandates without bargaining and attempting to intimidate members through interrogations about their strike intentions."

Kathy Zhang, Senior Analytics Manager at The New York Times and unit chair of the Tech Guild, said: "Our union members and bargaining committee have done everything possible to avoid this ULP strike." She continued, underscoring the importance of the election coverage and lack of agreement between the employees and the company: "But management is more willing to risk our election coverage than they are to agree to a fair deal with its workers. They have left us no choice but to demonstrate the power of our labor on the picket line. Nevertheless, we stand ready to bargain and get this contract done."

As a sign of support for the workers, the hashtag #BreakMyStreak appeared online, referring to users stopping playing NYT's Wordle.

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