NewsGuild filed two grievances and an unfair labor practice charge on behalf of Tech Guild.
By Catholics for Catholics
In a backlash against Artificial Intelligence, New York Times employees who are unionized have taken legal action against the venerable newspaper, asserting it uses the technology to “surveil and monitor” them.
Personnel in the New York Times Guild and the distinct Times Tech Guild filed two complaints and an unfair labor practice accusation against the Gray Lady, alleging the publication is positioning AI to snoop on employees in a “violation of their collective bargaining agreement,” according to a story by Fox News.
“Using AI to surveil our work violates our contract and creates a skewed, inaccurate picture of our members’ work,” said Benjamin Harnett, chair of the Tech Guild’s generative AI committee and a staff software engineer at the Times. “Our work takes human judgment, problem-solving and skill that can’t be accurately assessed by AI analysis and proxy metrics. It’s the equivalent of setting an arbitrary story quota for journalists.”
But a New York Times spokesperson took exception to the union’s complaint.
“We disagree with the characterizations made in the grievance and will respond as part of our normal contractual process. Likewise, we will respond to this Request for Information (RFI) in due course as we’ve done with 80+ other RFIs from the Guild in recent years,” a Times spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Representing union workers, Tech Guild is one of three bargaining units at The New York Times represented by the NewsGuild of NY. The NewsGuild contends that Times management has “continually refused to provide information to the Tech Guild on the company’s use of AI, despite being required by federal law to provide information that relates to either bargaining or contract enforcement,” according to a press release on the grievance.
“Workers everywhere are under attack from the unethical use of artificial programs by bosses,” NewsGuild of NY president Susan DeCarava said. “Sadly, New York Times management has proven themselves to be no different, rejecting both transparency and accountability for how artificial programs are being used against the very workers who help make the company successful.”
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