Amazon workers in New York City are among those organized by the Teamsters union in cities across the United States to strike on Thursday, December 19, 2024. (WNWY)
The editorial staff of The Athletic announced Monday that it has organized with The NewsGuild of New York to be part of The New York Times Newsroom Union, Times Association.
Now, The Athletic is asking New York Times management to hire its staff as part of the union, according to an email from about 200 U.S.-based editors to Times publisher A.J. Sulzberger and CEO, Meredith Kopit Levine. press release Shared with Fox News Digital.
“We are proud of all that The Athletic and The New York Times have done since our acquisition in 2022, and we know that our membership in The Times Association will only strengthen our work,” the letter reads.
The New York Times building is seen in Manhattan, New York, United States, August 3, 2020.
The New York Times acquired the online sports outlet in 2022, and while management initially claimed The Athletic's operations would be separate, they were merged into the newsroom, a press release said. Times management closed the New York Times sports desk in September 2023, and the work was transferred to Times staff assigned to The Athletic.
Time Guild leaders also sent a statement to management indicating their full support for the inclusion of The Athletic in their union.
“We ask the company to be true to what has been true since the company began publishing The Athletic under the New York Times banner: We are a newsroom, and our colleagues at The Athletic are members of the Times community,” they wrote.
The failed negotiations led to union members walking out of the newsroom workplace in 2024.
Katie Strong, senior investigative writer for The Athletic, wants New York Times executives to include her team in the bargaining unit.
New York Times Building (iStock)
“Over the past several months, we've organized around the principle of preserving what makes The Athletic great — our staff, our work and our loyal readers,” he said. “The work we do is union work, and we believe we should have the same benefits and protections as The Times' union members under their current contract.”
According to the press release, if management does not accept The Athletic's application for membership in the Times Association, the union will pursue other legal avenues.
“The Times should recognize these workers as part of the Times community,” said Susan DeCarava, president of the News Guild of New York. “We will not support a two-tier system that disenfranchises workers and undermines our membership, nor will we accept management's word that The Athletic is a separate entity.”
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The New York Times newspaper office building is seen in Manhattan, New York, on October 26, 2022. (Photo by Beata Zorzel/Noor via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The New York Times Technical Association reached a tentative agreement with management in December, a month later Election week strike. Union members back to work in early November after a week-long election strike in which they initially failed to reach an agreement with management.
particle for direct object Three-year contract The first union is for the Times Technology Guild, a bargaining unit of The NewsGuild of New York and the largest union of technology workers with collective bargaining rights in the country.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to The New York Times for comment.