The Athletic journalists seek to join New York Times union
The Athletic has functioned as the paper’s de facto sports desk since late 2023. The unionization will go to a National Labor Relations Board election.
Update, Jan. 10, 9:42 a.m.:
On Thursday, Jan. 9, The Athletic publisher David Perpich announced in a statement the Times would not heed Athletic workers’ request to join the New York Times Guild.
“We strongly believe that the best approach is to have The Athletic’s journalists form a separate bargaining unit within the NewsGuild, not to have them absorbed into the Times unit, as was proposed in the letter,” Perpich said. “We are prepared to voluntarily recognize such a separate unit, as we did with the Wirecutter Union.”
The Times Guild and NewsGuild of New York shot back, accusing Times leaders of “continuing the charade of pretending it operates separate newsrooms in an attempt to keep a two-tiered system that disenfranchises Athletic workers.”
The Guild’s statement added that workers had “filed for an election at the National Labor Relations Board” to proceed with their unionization process.
Original story:
Editorial staffers with The Athletic, a sports website owned by The New York Times, announced on Monday their intention to unionize. They asked the Times to voluntarily recognize them as part of the paper’s existing union. The Times has been relying on Athletic staff solely for all sports coverage since late 2023.
The Athletic’s organizing committee, on behalf of the roughly 200 U.S.-based editorial staffers working for the site, sent a letter via email to Times Publisher AG Sulzberger and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien requesting their staff members be allowed to join the Times Guild, a bargaining unit affiliated with the NewsGuild of New York, comprised of nearly 1,500 other employees of the company.
“The work we do is union work and we believe we should be afforded the same benefits and protections as the Times Guild members under their current contract,” Katie Strang, a senior investigative writer with The Athletic involved in the unionization effort, said in a statement.
Leadership of the Times Guild said they welcomed The Athletic’s inclusion in their bargaining unit and called on Times managers to approve the request.
“We urge the company to recognize what has been true since the company began publishing The Athletic’s work under the banner of The New York Times: We are one newsroom, and our colleagues at The Athletic are Times Guild members,” they wrote in a statement to Times managers.
Jordan Cohen, a spokesperson for The New York Times Company, told The Objective on Monday the paper’s leaders “received and are reviewing a request from U.S.-based colleagues in The Athletic’s newsroom to initiate a process to become members of the NewsGuild of New York,” but provided no indication as to whether they’d approve it.
The Athletic’s unionization effort follows other high-profile labor disputes in sports-focused publications. In early 2024, organizers with the Sports Illustrated Union pursued legal action against Arena Group, which formerly operated Sports Illustrated, alleging the company targeted union members during mass layoffs.
And the Times has specifically dealt with a number of workforce labor issues across recent years.
Shortly after their publication was acquired by the Times in 2017, employees of the tech review site Wirecutter launched a unionization effort. They ultimately reached a deal with the Times in 2021 following a five-day strike over Black Friday, and won a new contract guaranteeing salary increases and improved paid leave benefits last May.
Reporters and editors with the Times held a one-day work stoppage in December of 2022 amid stalled contract negotiations, eventually reaching an agreement with managers in May of 2023.
And it took more than three-and-a-half years for the more than 600 tech workers at the Times to gain union recognition. The Times Tech Guild launched an eight-day strike over the general election last November, eventually reaching a tentative three-year-contract deal in December that guaranteed wage increases of up to 8.25% over the length of the contract as well as “just cause” protections against firing.
Related: New York Times Tech Guild goes on strike during Election Week
Meanwhile, a majority of The Athletic’s over 30 Canadian employees moved to unionize on Monday through CWA Canada. In a statement, those employees highlighted the fair application of employee standards, scheduling, staff diversity and employee input in company decisions as central issues in their unionization effort.
“We take pride in the reputation for excellent sports journalism that we have helped build here. That is why we are taking the steps to unionize our workplace,” the statement read. “By organizing, we want to ensure that continues, and that The Athletic will be an employer that supports us, treats us well, compensates us fairly for the work that we do, and values our individual perspectives in a safe and respectful work environment.”
The Times purchased The Athletic in 2022 for $550 million, and the company disbanded its sports section the following year, replacing it with The Athletic’s staff. Shortly thereafter, Athletic leaders laid off about 20 employees, or nearly 4% of its newsroom, citing a need to reorganize how reporters were assigned to different beats. Late last year, the Times announced that The Athletic earned a quarterly profit for the first time since it was purchased by the paper.
NewsGuild warned that the organization would pursue “other legal pathways” should the Times opt not to voluntarily recognize the U.S. Athletic workers’ request.
Jacob Gardenswartz is a reporter based in Washington, D.C covering how politics and policy impact people.
This piece was edited by James Salanga. Copy edits by Omar Rashad.
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