Candidate Statement: Stephen Nakrosis

My name is Stephen Nakrosis and I’m writing to ask you to vote for me as president of our union.

Unlike many unions, IAPE represents a wide range of talented and dedicated workers across a broad spectrum of jobs and professions. Our members are journalists, technical staff, salespeople and printers. Our membership is scattered across the country. Bringing every member together under our umbrella has always been a challenge, one made all the more difficult as we face the new realities of work brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The old ways of doing things – of mobilizing and organizing – no longer. New ideas and new methods must be implemented to meet these new challenges.

I intend to reach out to every member of IAPE, all 1,200-plus of us, through phone calls, personal e-mails and texts. I want to listen to your concerns, hear your ideas, and learn what you want our union to do for you. I also want to hear your thoughts concerning what you can do to help serve our union.

It will take some time, to be sure, but I hope that as your president I can speak personally with every member who is willing to speak with me.

I want to know what your concerns are about working from home, how you feel about potentially returning to the office, and your thoughts about the safety of the company’s facilities. And above all, I want to hear your concerns about the security of our jobs.

No member of IAPE should be put in a position where they feel unsafe, or where they feel the need to choose between their health and their job. No worker should have to return to the office until they are fully confident the building is safe, clean and has the necessary safeguards to protect their health. Our union and Dow Jones must work together to ensure that all facilities are as safe and sanitary as possible and that all new routines protect the health of our workers.

For those who will continue working from home, a different set of issues has emerged. Jobs have changed, expectations have changed, our relationships with our managers and with each other have changed. I want to see IPAE get out in front of these changes and address the concerns of our members who are working under these new conditions. We must be proactive. We can’t afford to wait and respond to Dow Jones only after the company has offered its solutions. We must quickly learn what our members need and bring those needs to the attention of management. Our union must put forward our own ideas and suggestions, generated by the feedback from our members, to ensure those concerns are heard loud and clear.

A union as diverse and spread out as IAPE has always been difficult to mobilize. Bulletin boards and mass e-mails must give way to methods that are more personalized. Everyone in IAPE should have a dedicated member of a communications committee who will have access to leadership to relay their questions and concerns. The union must work closely with other bodies, such as Pride@DJ and Women@DJ , so the leadership is made aware of any concerns expressed by members in those forums. Working together, we can collectively address those concerns.

I intend to maintain an open-door policy as president and will happily speak with any member to discuss their problems, concerns, questions of ideas.

Membership participation is vital to any union. All members of IAPE will be invited to serve in some capacity, in order to help the union grow and thrive. A strong response from our members carries great weight with the company’s management and helps our negotiators as they discuss grievances and contracts.

I have been a member of IAPE since the early part of this century, when Harborside was brought into the fold. Most recently, I served the union as Chairman of the Election Committee. I have been a steward, a member of the executive committee, union secretary, and head of the finance committee. I was twice a delegate to our union’s national convention and also represented IAPE at regional meetings of the Newspaper Guild as well as at arbitration.

I have participated in scores of meetings with members and their managers, dealing with a wide range of issues, including grievances, disciplinary matters, warning letters and firings.

I have been working at Dow Jones for over 25 years. This company is my home, just as this union is my home. I have seen myriad changes in the nature of our business and in the nature of the company. I have vast experience dealing with the needs of our members over the past quarter century. I am currently writing for the Real Time desk. I love my job here at Dow Jones, and I haven’t made the decision to run for union president lightly. But at this time, I feel I am the best candidate to serve the needs of our members going forward, and I humbly ask for your vote in the upcoming election.

Feel free to get in touch with me at votesteveiape@gmail.com.