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Branded lunch boxes for return to office? New York Times faces staff pushback
More than 1,000 staff members have reportedly joined the pushback, seeking a better deal than branded lunchboxes.
Coronavirus pushed the world into a slowdown for more than two years, and return to physical workspaces has been an uneasy transition for office-goers around the world. Choosing to quit over work-from-office - after a long spell of work-from-home- has not been something that’s unheard of in the times that have shown that working remotely has been a viable option for firms across sectors.
Now, the New York Times is reported to be facing a massive defiance from its staff. Why, you may ask? Journalists working with the iconic American daily are claiming they have been offered branded lunch boxes as a return-to-office perk. Multiple posts emerged on Twitter encapsulating the subtle pushback of the staff.
"The @nytimes is giving employees branded lunch boxes this week as a return-to-office perk. We want respect and a fair contract instead, " Haley Willis, visual investigations reporter, wrote in a tweet. "So I’m working from home this week along with 1,300 of my @NYTimesGuild and @NYTGuildTech colleagues, with support from @WirecutterUnion," she further wrote. The Wirecutter Union is a part of the NewsGuild of New York, a union of staff employed with US based media organisations.
In a tweet, it said: “We stand with our @NYTGuildTech @NYTimesGuild colleagues in their fight for fair contracts and stronger workplace safety practices.” More than 1,000 staffers are believed to be supporting this.
The Wirecutter Union also shared a post from NYT reporter, Remy Tumin, that carried a photo of the branded lunchbox. The post was similar to what Haley Willis and many other NYT employees had put out.
There have been solidarity tweets too. "Proud of my @NYTimesGuild colleagues who've driven @nytimes to staggering levels of productivity and success since Feb. 2020 and deserved a fair contract as a RTO door prize rather than empty lunchboxes. Have also been proud to join their pledge to WFH this week," Michael Roston, associated with the US daily - which has a worldwide readership - wrote.
The pushback - which was reported to have started this Monday - is not the first that the NYT has faced in recent times.
Journalists have been without a contract, according to a report by Bloomberg, since March 2021 and staff haven’t gotten raises in more than two years despite decades-high inflation and rent increases.
Last year, the Wirecutter Union had said it had reached a deal with the New York Times after a massive strike on wages. "This represents a major milestone for the Wirecutter Union after negotiations came to a head last month, when Wirecutter staff went on strike during Black Friday through Cyber Monday, the site’s most profitable days of the year," a statement in December read.
"The union won immediate average wage increases of approximately $5,000, with the lowest paid members receiving immediate 18% raises," it further added. Employees were quoted as saying that they had been putting up the fight for more than two years.
