On Monday, Nov. 4th one day before the 2024 presidential election, the New York Times Tech Guild workers walked out and began a strike. The workers have been in the process of negotiating a contract for almost two years according to Fast Company, and underwent a week-long strike to prove their value to the New York Times. The workers returned to work on Tuesday, Nov. 12th.

An often overlooked sector of news in the modern day is the tech employees who keep all online coverage running smoothly. The NYT Tech Guild consists of around 600 workers consisting of software developers and data engineers who build and design websites and apps.

The Guild specifically planned their strike over the election, one of the most important times of the year for news networks. The coverage ran mostly smoothly, due to the months of preparation the team did prior to their strike. Although according to Business Insider around 100 tech workers crossed a picket line on election day.

A picket line is one the the vital vocabulary terms used when talking about a strike. The term comes from the French word piquet and originates from the idea that when on strike workers hold up signs on a pole and walk in a circle around their workplace, discouraging others from entering.

So, when crossing a picket line you go past or against what striking workers are asking you to do. For example, During the NYT Tech Guild strike, workers were asking you not to use the NYT Games such as Wordle or Connections, the NYT Cooking app. Therefore, chances are you crossed this picket line.

It is important to do your own research when deciding on whether or not to support the worker’s strike there are always two sides to every story and think critically about what you support.