NLRB Sets Election Date for NY Times Tech Guild, Rejects Management’s Attempts to Disenfranchise Workers

In a long-awaited decision, the National Labor Relations Board this week ruled that New York Times tech workers can hold a vote on unionization starting later this month as one united bargaining unit. It marks a major victory for tech workers at the Times, who first announced the formation of their union in April and have met resistance from the Times at every step, including an attempt in August to divide the group into separate job-specific units and disenfranchise dozens of voters.

The NLRB decisively rejected Times management’s efforts to exclude workers and backed the Tech Guild’s definition of which workers would be eligible to vote, including software engineers, data analysts, project managers, product managers, and designers. Once certified, the Times Tech Guild would be the largest union for tech workers with bargaining rights in the country. The unit is represented by The NewsGuild of New York.

“We are thrilled that the NLRB found that we are one union, and are proud to be setting a precedent for our fellow tech workers across the industry,” said Nozlee Samadzadeh, a senior software engineer at the Times and a member of the Times Tech Guild organizing committee. “Despite management’s attempts to divide us, this decision proves what we’ve known all along: that we are stronger together and will win this election.” Read more here.