The New York Times’ unions are attempting to halt the implementation of a stringent policy that would monitor employees’ compliance with the return-to-office mandate.

The New York Times Guild, representing the majority of newsroom workers, and the Times Tech Guild, consisting of over 600 Times tech employees, reportedly sent cease-and-desist letters to management last week, as per Axios’ report on Tuesday.

The publication had announced its intention to increase the requirement from three days per week to an additional fourth day, effective September 3, 2024.

Under the new policy, newsroom leaders would periodically monitor badge swipe data to analyze attendance trends and potentially flag individuals with notably low attendance, according to Semafor.

A representative from The Times stated, “We believe that allowing people the flexibility to work together in the office at times and remotely at other times benefits everyone by ensuring that we maintain the strong, collaborative environment that has come to define our culture and drive our success.”

Hybrid employees

The spokesperson did not provide further details on badge monitoring but mentioned that The Times’ policy stipulates that hybrid employees should be in the office two to three days a week, with each department head determining the exact number of days.

At the time of the report, The Times’ unions had not responded to requests for comment.

The New York Times Guild argued that monitoring badge swipes to surveil office attendance violates their new contract, which was finalized in May after more than two years of contentious negotiations.

In response, a Times representative pointed out that the contract does acknowledge the company’s right to enforce its return-to-office policies. The representative also noted that the changes made due to the pandemic were always intended to be temporary.

A contract has not yet been agreed upon with the tech workers’ union, which was ratified in 2022.

The Times Tech Guild contended that monitoring badge swipes “violates their status quo, or the terms and conditions set at the time that were union ratified in 2022.”

The status quo remains in place until the Tech Guild negotiates a contract with management, but a Times representative informed Axios that the publication’s return-to-office policies were introduced before the Tech Guild was officially recognized.