More than 600 developers and designers of The New York Times went on strike the day before the U.S. election - the work of the publication's servers is under threat

The Technical Guild of The New York Times comprises over 600 software developers, product managers, data analysts, and designers who support the functioning of the newspaper’s digital services — including live blogs, mobile push notifications, and election coverage streams.

As noted by The Washington Post, since 2022, the Technical Guild of The New York Times has been negotiating for its first union contract, with the latest discussions reaching a deadlock the night before, prompting a large-scale strike. Effectively, on the eve of the U.S. elections, the newspaper’s servers could be left completely unattended.

Senior software engineer at The New York Times, Kite Hene, states that the elections result in a surge in traffic to the newspaper’s website, creating a "system load" that would be difficult to manage without experienced engineers on hand.

Picket underway outside @nytimespic.twitter.com/dVVD3XRUR6

— NewsGuild of New York (@nyguild) November 4, 2024

The negotiations have primarily focused on three key issues: protection against wrongful terminations and proper procedures; return-to-work policies, and ensuring equity and fairness in pay (research has revealed pay disparities for women and people of color).

We are on ULP strike. We gave @nytimes management months of notice of our strike deadline, we made ourselves available around the clock, but the company has decided that our members aren't worth enough to agree to a fair contract and stop committing unfair labor practices. pic.twitter.com/jYlANW1ruw

— New York Times Tech Guild (@NYTGuildTech) November 4, 2024

Meanwhile, over 750 journalists from the newspaper have signed a statement asserting they will be unable to perform their jobs without the technical staff.

"We are very anxious. With election day approaching, everything is very active, and no one knows what will happen if there aren’t any technical workers to address issues on the fly," said Stacey Cowley, a business reporter for The New York Times.

A spokesperson for The New York Times previously stated that the company has "reliable plans in place to ensure the mission of the publication is fulfilled," but declined to specify what measures had been implemented.