Siobhan Hughes For Secretary

Candidate Statement

WHO I AM:

I've been with Dow Jones since August 2004, and got my start at IAPE by circulating paper premium-pay forms to reporters so that they could get paid for the weekend work they did during the financial crisis. It was a novel situation in that people in our bureau were working on their days off, but no one knew what they were entitled to under the contract, or how (or whether) to go about receiving what they were owed. The experience taught me a lot about the value of researching our contractual rights, communicating, organizing — and then acting.

Since then, I have had other opportunities to volunteer on behalf of Dow Jones, both within and outside of IAPE. Over the years, I've learned so much about what it takes to be an effective advocate. I hope that after you've had a chance to read about my record, you'll vote for me to give me the chance to keep working on your behalf.

WHAT I'VE DONE:

Within IAPE, I was part of the bargaining team during our challenging 2016 contract negotiations, making the case to executives that in spite of a tough advertising climate it was worth digging a little deeper into their pockets to value our contributions. The result was a one-year delay in a health-insurance premium increase for families, a 2% annual pay raise that had been put at risk when advertising declined, and an increase the physical-fitness reimbursement.

I also was a leader in pushing the company to abide by its contractual obligations to pay overtime-exempt employees for last-minute weekend work — a significant issue during a period in which my colleagues left it all on the field during one of the most grueling presidential campaigns in memory.

On the issue of workplace fairness, I was a key part of the team that arranged for an independent study of gender-pay disparities among union employees. I acted out of a belief that it was important to ensure that the conversation with the company took place on a solid statistical foundation. I also wanted to make sure that the conversation about fairness didn't stop simply because we had won raises for some underpaid colleagues.

MY PHILOSOPHY OF IAPE'S JOB AND THE ROLE I CAN PLAY:

My philosophy of the role of IAPE is this: It's the nature of work that employees will from time to time be faced with workplace conflicts, which could crop up on everything from pay and benefits to challenges in dealing with a manager. An organization like IAPE provides a mechanism for working through thorny issues in an orderly way, so that workers don't stay stuck year after year in the same stew of problems. Having taken on some higher-level IAPE roles in recent years, I can attest to the value of this system to IAPE members and to my commitment to using it to make sure that employees are heard and valued.

I'd like to be a conduit for the good ideas that are percolating in every corner of our membership. I'm particularly interested in encouraging members to see IAPE as a both a resource that they can draw from and an organization that would be enhanced by their active participation. More broadly, in terms of our negotiations with Dow Jones, I'd like to work toward ensuring that the company refrains from exercising its right to break the contract after two years.

WHAT DRIVES ME:

When I rejoined IAPE leadership a couple years ago after a vacancy opened up in Washington, I knew that we would need to put in a lot of work to win a fair contract. I didn't anticipate how much joy I would get from working with and on behalf of such talented colleagues. I have been wowed by all of you — in every department. We can do so much together. I hope you will vote for me for secretary so that I can help all of us get recognized for the drive, energy, skill and dedication that we bring to Dow Jones.