(NEW YORK CITY) - Editorial Staff at The Athletic announced they’ve organized with The NewsGuild of New York and are asking The New York Times to recognize them as part of the Newsroom Union, The Times Guild.

The Athletic’s Organizing Committee sent an e-mail on behalf of about 200 Athletic U.S.-based Editorial Staff to Times Publisher A.G. Sulzberger and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien, requesting they recognize them as part of the Times Guild. 

“We are proud of all that The Athletic and The New York Times as a whole has accomplished since our 2022 acquisition and we know that our inclusion in the Times Guild will only further strengthen our work,” the letter says. 

The Times acquired The Athletic, an On-Line Sports News Outlet, in 2022.

Despite management’s assertions that The Athletic’s operations would be separate, they have been integrated into the newsroom.

On September 18th, 2023, Times management closed the award-winning New York Times Sports Desk and the work was shifted to Times Staff assigned to The Athletic. 

Leadership of The Times Guild, which represents nearly 1,500 Workers in the newsroom - as well as Business and Support Staff, sent a statement to Times management to express their full support of their Co-Workers at The Athletic. 

“We urge the company to recognize what has been true since the company began publishing The Athletic’s work under the banner of The New York Times: We are one newsroom, and our colleagues at The Athletic are Times Guild Members,” they wrote. 

For More On This Labor News Report, Go To: ATHLETIC JOURNALISTS ORGANIZE AT THE NEW YORK TIMES, SEEK RECOGNITION AS PART OF NEWSROOM UNION