The New York Times Tech Guild, the group of individuals responsible for some of the internet’s most beloved commodities, such as the Wordle and the Connections, began a strike against their management on Nov. 4 2024. 

After a reported over two years of failed contract negotiations, a large majority of the Tech Guild, represented by the Newsguild of New York (a union for journalists), voted to begin the longest spanning technical laborer strike that the country has seen. 

Following the final decision, meetings with management increased dramatically, but both sides were still too far from reaching a beneficial conclusion. With the unsuccessful negotiations, majority of the Tech Guild walked out of the job on Monday Nov. 4, halting the progress of many important features to the Time’s technical sphere. 

Tech Guild workers asked the public to avoid using many of the aforementioned games and puzzles usually put out by the Guild, and in order to avoid crossing a picket line, the majority of the public responded back with overwhelming support for the striking workers.

In a compromise for those skipping the daily Wordles, the Guild came out with clever alternatives such as “Strikle” and “Connections: Strike edition.” Not supporting the company being stirked against (or as mentioned previously, “crossing the picket line”) is imperative to the success of a strike, and the public’s unwillingness to play the Times branded games, while small, only solidified the population’s solidarity with the workers. 

However, to the public’s shock, the Guild ended the strike after only eight days. In a message to the public, they revealed that while the strike was short and the Times seemed unfazed, the eight days they spent refusing to work left a significant impact on the operation of many important features that the Times is known for.

In an Instagram post, the Guild said “…we held the first tech-workers strike in the nation, ran one of the first and largest remote pickets in the nation, and pulled off a successful boycott of both NYT Cooking and Games.”

While the Guild may have ended the strike without a proper resolution, they reiterate that they have made their message clear, and that this strike would only lead to more if the Times refuses to meet on fair grounds.

“Our ULP Strike was a warning, and now management knows what we’re capable of” the Instagram caption said.