NEW YORK — More than 1,000 New York Times journalists and other employees walked off the job for 24 hours Thursday, frustrated by contract negotiations that have dragged on for months in the newspaper’s biggest labor dispute. in more than 40 years.

Hundreds of reporters, editors, photographers and other employees gathered outside the newspaper’s offices near Times Square in Manhattan.

With an empty newsroom, The New York Times relied on international and non-unionized staff to supply content to its more than 9 million subscribers around the world until the strike ends at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

The New York NewsGuild union made good on its promise to strike after the parties failed to reach an agreement in negotiations that broke down Wednesday night.

The sides remain far apart on issues including wages, remote work policies and the performance appraisal system, which the union says is vulnerable to racial bias.

The current collective agreement expired in March 2021, and the union has accused the company of stalling negotiations.

“I am not mad. I am just deeply disappointed in our company,” said Nikole Hannah Jones, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist who spoke at the rally. “You shouldn’t have to struggle financially to work at a place like The New York Times, whatever your position is.”

In an email to the newsroom, executive editor Joe Kahn expressed disappointment in the decision to go on strike when negotiations are not deadlocked, the Times reported in its own story on the walkout. Kahn said Thursday’s news production would be “robust” but “more difficult than usual.”

Stacy Cowley, a financial reporter and chief negotiator for the union, said the strike left many newsrooms, including hers, virtually empty. Among the participants were members of the live newsroom, in charge of covering breaking news for the digital publication.

The live news desk was on Thursday, focusing on the release of American basketball star Brittney Griner from a Russian prison as part of a prisoner exchange.

The union has argued that employees deserve better pay for helping The New York Times become a success story in a battered news industry.

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