New York Times Tech Guild goes on strike • Hacker News Board

Re: New York Times Tech Guild goes on strike

#221

Post by School-Cotton » Mon, Nov 04, 2024, 4:11 PM UTC

tsunamifury wrote: post #121

xnx wrote: post #113

> more than 600 software developers Does anyone have a sense for how this breaks down? I would never have guessed so many full-time employees were necessary to maintain a CMS.

Is this comment made every time by hacker news people? “I run my basement website with in my spare time? Why can’t one of the most popular websites in the world run on gum and a few paper clips”

The OP didn’t claim they thought 600 was unreasonable. A charitable reading of their post is they were genuinely curious why it’s reasonable.

Re: New York Times Tech Guild goes on strike

#222

Post by lotsofpulp » Mon, Nov 04, 2024, 4:12 PM UTC

amonon wrote: post #208

thinkingtoilet wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People will laugh at it, but pet bereavement should absolutely be a thing. The saddest I've ever been in my life was when my dog died. Perhaps seven days is a bit much, but when you go to the bargaining table you don't start with what you want, you start past that point then negotiate down.

I felt the same but my preference is to have enough PTO to take off for that.

Yes, the fairest and least corruptible system is to just provide PTO. People can use it however they see fit.

Re: New York Times Tech Guild goes on strike

#223

Post by KittenInABox » Mon, Nov 04, 2024, 4:12 PM UTC

fakedang wrote: post #189

thinkingtoilet wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People will laugh at it, but pet bereavement should absolutely be a thing. The saddest I've ever been in my life was when my dog died. Perhaps seven days is a bit much, but when you go to the bargaining table you don't start with what you want, you start past that point then negotiate down.

[flagged]

Unscented cleaning products in a communal workplace setting makes complete sense to me, tbh. It minimizes the exposure to any sensitivities or allergies that could expose a company to legal liability. e.g. it only takes one poorly-paid cleaner to forget that someone's bathroom has an accessibility policy because they're deeply allergic to the lemon scent in the cleaning product or something.

Re: New York Times Tech Guild goes on strike

#224

Post by lotsofpulp » Mon, Nov 04, 2024, 4:13 PM UTC

ceejayoz wrote: post #130

michaelt wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know about the NYT, but in my country newspapers are fighting for their lives, financially. Newspapers closing down and others laying off staff is a regular occurance. Print newspapers are essentially dead. Online news? Barely anyone pays for that. Online with ads? Reddit/twitter/facebook/youtube pay zero dollars for the content they put ads on. If you're in tech and you want to maximise your salary - a compa…

The NYT has money. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/04/business/media/new-york-t... > The company’s adjusted operating profit for the quarter, which ran from July through September, rose 16.1 percent to $104.2 million, from $89.8 million a year before. Overall revenue increased 7 percent to $640.2 million, compared with the same period in 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/07/business/media/new-york-t... > The comp…

Why are you quoting operating profit instead of net income? The expenses included in net income are not optional.

Re: New York Times Tech Guild goes on strike

#225

Post by School-Cotton » Mon, Nov 04, 2024, 4:13 PM UTC

nemesis17 wrote: post #68

With the shit show that the current tech industry has turned into, unionization is crucial. US has a very low percentage of unionized workers compared to Iceland, Finland and Scandinavian countries for instance. Time to change and make our voice heard.

In what way do you think the current tech industry has turned into a shit show?

Re: New York Times Tech Guild goes on strike

#226

Post by tdeck » Mon, Nov 04, 2024, 4:13 PM UTC

impish9208 wrote: post #80

From the WSJ’s reporting on this: > Most employees in the tech union receive pay of more than $100,000, and average compensation, including bonus and restricted stock units, is $190,000, according to a Times spokeswoman. That figure is an average of $40,000 more than members of the Times’s journalist union, she said. > Times leaders have also bristled at the nature of some of the guild’s requests. The union previousl…

[flagged]

Re: New York Times Tech Guild goes on strike

#227

Post by booleandilemma » Mon, Nov 04, 2024, 4:14 PM UTC

nemesis17 wrote: post #68

With the shit show that the current tech industry has turned into, unionization is crucial. US has a very low percentage of unionized workers compared to Iceland, Finland and Scandinavian countries for instance. Time to change and make our voice heard.

How? How can we go from an HN comment to making this a reality?

Re: New York Times Tech Guild goes on strike

#228

Post by bigstrat2003 » Mon, Nov 04, 2024, 4:14 PM UTC

stego-tech wrote: post #118

impish9208 wrote: post #80

From the WSJ’s reporting on this: > Most employees in the tech union receive pay of more than $100,000, and average compensation, including bonus and restricted stock units, is $190,000, according to a Times spokeswoman. That figure is an average of $40,000 more than members of the Times’s journalist union, she said. > Times leaders have also bristled at the nature of some of the guild’s requests. The union previousl…

When I see people critique those numbers as being “too high”, or demands for additional compensation “unreasonable”, I can’t help but think those people don’t understand that $100k is very much the new $45k of the 2000s, and has much less purchasing power than the latter did at the time. Truth be told, for the present cost of living in the Northeast in general, you’re looking at a family income of $300k to be “comfor…

> I can’t help but think those people don’t understand that $100k is very much the new $45k of the 2000s

It really isn't.

Re: New York Times Tech Guild goes on strike

#229

Post by SilasX » Mon, Nov 04, 2024, 4:14 PM UTC

fakedang wrote: post #189

thinkingtoilet wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People will laugh at it, but pet bereavement should absolutely be a thing. The saddest I've ever been in my life was when my dog died. Perhaps seven days is a bit much, but when you go to the bargaining table you don't start with what you want, you start past that point then negotiate down.

[flagged]

Um, what? If anything, the bit about unscented cleaning products would be one of the more reasonable asks, since it's relatively cheap to provide, and makes a huge difference to quality of the workplace for those who care about it and are annoyed by the scents.

Re: New York Times Tech Guild goes on strike

#230

Post by nitwit005 » Mon, Nov 04, 2024, 4:15 PM UTC

fakedang wrote: post #189

thinkingtoilet wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People will laugh at it, but pet bereavement should absolutely be a thing. The saddest I've ever been in my life was when my dog died. Perhaps seven days is a bit much, but when you go to the bargaining table you don't start with what you want, you start past that point then negotiate down.

[flagged]

Because of allergies basically. It's a big problem for some people. My mother's church asks people wearing perfumes or other scents to sit on one side every service.