BUSTERS BUSTED

New York Times Illegally Busted Union Campaign, Labor Board Alleges

Times management ordered a group of technical employees to stop using pro-union avatars in Slack, according to a complaint.

The New York Times illegally tried to bust a campaign to unionize among its employees, an official complaint filed late last month alleges. According to Bloomberg, an acting regional director of the National Labor Relations Board wrote on Dec. 29 that the Times “has been interfering with, restraining and coercing employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed” by federal labor laws. The complaint alleges that Times management ordered a group of technical employees, the subjects of a unionizing campaign, to stop using pro-union avatars in online chat and meeting programs such as Slack and Google Meet. Management incorrectly identified the employees as supervisors because they managed temporary interns, according to the complaint. A court will consider the complaint at a trial in March. A Times spokeswoman said in a statement, “We strongly disagree with the union’s allegations about the supervisory status of certain technology employees and welcome the opportunity to explain our position to the board.”