NEW YORK, United States — More than 1,000 New York Times employees went on strike at midnight on Thursday in the first industrial action of its kind in more than 40 years, their union said.

Journalists and other workers at the storied media outlet, often referred to as America's paper of record, walked out for 24 hours after failing to reach an agreement with the company on a new round of contract negotiations, the union said.

The NewsGuild of New York, a union representing the striking workers, had said that a key sticking point was the management's refusal to raise wages in line with surging inflation.

"Over 1,100 New York Times workers are now officially on work stoppage, the first of this scale at the company in 4 decades," the union tweeted early Thursday morning.

New York Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha told US media in a statement that negotiations had not broken down and "it is disappointing that they are taking such an extreme action when we are not at an impasse."

Phoebe Lett, a podcast producer at the media outlet, tweeted: "It is heartbreaking to have to stand with nearly 1,200 colleagues who sacrifice everything for the good of this place, hat in hand, asking @nytimes to show us they value us. But here we are."

The union said its members were "willing to do what it takes to win a better newsroom for all."

© Agence France-Presse