New York Times Return-to-Office Fight to Turn on Union Contracts

Whether the New York Times Co. and other unionized companies must bargain over return-to-office plans and Covid-19 safety protocols likely boils down to the status of their collective bargaining agreements.

The newspaper has brought workers back to the office and made changes to its safety measures despite demands from the NewsGuild of New York that it negotiate over those policies. The union has filed unfair labor practice charges targeting the paper’s plans, while 1,300 employees pledged to work from home in protest last week.

As more companies require workers to come back to the office after extended pandemic-driven work-from-home arrangements—even ...