The union representing the employees affected by the recent New York Times decision to shutter its local sports section has filed a grievance against the company.
Reporting in the Washington Post indicates the grievance isn’t to challenge the closure of the sports desk, but the challenge is to the idea that the paper can use non-union work to produce sports coverage. The belief of the New York Times Guild is that the Times as a company violated the collective bargaining agreement by deciding to rely on The Athletic.
“The Times Guild has jurisdiction over journalism jobs at The Times, yet the company is claiming it has the right to subcontract to itself and have nonunion workers do union work without the same job protections, wages and other benefits we have fought so hard to secure,” the Times Guild said in a statement to the Washington Post. “These claims are preposterous on their face and a brazen attempt at union-busting.”
The New York Times Company has 20 days to respond to the grievance, and the Times Guild will have 45 days to file for an arbitration hearing if the company denies the grievance.
