New York Times tech workers went on strike on Monday — a day before the US election — which could affect the newspaper’s popular word game Wordle.
The Times Tech Guild, representing 600 workers including software developers and data analysts, has demanded a “just cause” provision in contracts. The newspaper says this would means workers can only have their contracts terminated for misconduct or another such reason, The union is also looking to secure pay increases, pay equity and return-to-office policies.
The striking staff work on the back-end systems that power how people access the NYT’s many online services. That includes ensuring the newspaper’s in-house article-writing software Scoop (as famously seen in the 2022 film She Said) works and that readers get push alerts. The Daily Beast says some members ensure the paper’s various games (hello, Wordle and Connections), apps, and website work. That includes its renowned Election Needle, a model introduced in 2016 that forecasts which candidate will win an election.
The guild said it had asked readers to honour its digital picket line by not playing Times Games products, including Wordle, and not using the Cooking app.
Wordle is an online puzzle game which gives players six attempts to guess a five-letter word, receiving feedback on which letters are correct after each guess.
Management and employees were locked in talks until late on Sunday, but a compromise could not be reached and workers went on strike early the following day.
Times management said in an email to workers on Sunday that they had “offered a 2.5 per cent annual wage increase, a minimum 5 per cent pay increase for promotions and a $1,000 (£771) ratification bonus”. It promised to “maintain its current in-office work requirements of two days a week through June 2025, while allowing employees to work fully remotely for three weeks per year”.
Hannah Yang, the company’s chief growth and customer officer, and Jason Sobel, its chief technology officer, said in the email: “We are disappointed that the Tech Guild leadership is attempting to jeopardise our journalistic mission at this critical time.”
But the guild rejected the offer. It said its members would “protest daily outside the company’s headquarters starting at 9am on Monday”.
Kathy Zhang, the guild’s unit chair, said: “They have left us no choice but to demonstrate the power of our labour on the picket line.
“Nevertheless, we stand ready to bargain and get this contract across the finish line.”
The Times management said they believed they had put a “strong offer on the table”.
A Times spokeswoman said the company had “robust plans in place to ensure that we are able to fulfil our mission and serve our readers.”
Wordle was originally released to the public in October 2021. It was created by Josh Wardle, a software engineer, as a fun game for him and his partner. Its simplicity and engaging format quickly attracted a global audience, and within a few months, Wordle went viral, especially as players began sharing their results on social media.
By January 2022, its popularity had surged so much that the New York Times acquired Wordle to add it to its line-up of games.
