The Only Website Post You Need to Read Today*

*If you want to avoid making a 2027 health insurance coverage mistake

IAPE members in the United States, we have one simple message for you today: make your 2027 health insurance plan selection.

We know, in the past, if you wanted the same coverage to carry from one calendar year to the next, the process was automatic. Not anymore. As Dow Jones CPO Dianne DeSevo explained in her Oct. 5 note to staff, “This year, active enrollment is required for everyone. Your 2026 medical, dental and vision elections will not automatically carry over.”

If you do not actively select a health insurance plan during the Nov. 4-18 open enrollment period, your 2027 coverage will default to the Aetna CDHP plan.

If you currently are enrolled in the top-tier, Choice POS II plan, and if you do not actively select coverage for 2027, you will be kicked into CDHP next year.

Tell your friends. Especially the ones who routinely ignore emails from Dow Jones, and even messages from IAPE. (Not gonna lie, that hurts a little.)

You’ll also need to make vision and dental selections, if you currently purchase those options. Otherwise, your 2027 coverage will default to Aetna Dental PPO and Aetna Vision.

Members who waived any insurance in 2026 will be deemed to have waived coverage in 2027 if they do not make a plan selection during open enrollment.

As you prepare for open enrollment, we suggest looking back at DeSevo’s note from last week. U.S. members will be required to re-register with The Benefits Center in order to access the soon-to-be-updated enrollment site. Watch for an email from Benefits on Nov. 4.

And, surprisingly, we’ve heard good things about the company’s automated assistant “Carly.” Unlike previous years, the platform does seem to recommend POS II coverage when it may be appropriate. However, we still recommend that you take time to review all plan choice materials on your own.

Today: IAPE 101
If you’d like to ask IAPE reps questions about 2027 health insurance, we suggest joining today’s IAPE 101 class at 2:00 p.m. EDT. Sure, the first half-hour of this session is primarily an orientation session intended for newcomers, but we do have an open Q&A period at the end of the presentation. And hey, even the most seasoned IAPE members might hear an interesting tidbit or two during the first 30 minutes of this Zoom meeting.

So, whether you’ve just started working at Dow Jones or have just transferred into an IAPE-represented role, or if you’ve been a dues-paying IAPE member for what seems like forever, join us this afternoon at 2:00 EDT. If you can’t make today’s class, our next 101 session is scheduled for Nov. 14. Register on the IAPE Events page to receive your calendar invitation.

IAPE Contract Survey: Last Call?
Thanks to all who have responded to the 2027 Dow Jones contract survey, and especially to those who have answered the call when our fast-talking, phone-banking stewards have dialed your number. We appreciate the feedback!

If you haven’t submitted your survey yet, check your email for your link to respond. Spoiler alert: it’s a short survey, and might only take a few minutes (though you’re welcome to take as much time as you need to elaborate on any responses).

And keep an eye on your call display next Wednesday, Oct. 21, for our next round of IAPE phone banking. If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer caller, let us know!

Directors Set IAPE Budget

The IAPE Board of Directors has approved the union’s budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, which began on October 1.

Planning for expenses related to Dow Jones contract negotiations and the addition of a new union staff representative, IAPE’s governing board authorized a spending package to increase expenses by 11.73%, anticipating a nearly $60,000 deficit.

The new budget also projects a 1.23% decrease in dues revenue thanks to a declining membership base. Revenue from the new Schneps bargaining unit, or any bargaining units organized by IAPE, will not begin until the ratification of a first contract.

IAPE will still be able to tap into its relatively healthy treasury if necessary. The fiscal year which ended on Sept. 30 produced an unaudited $240,000 surplus to boost those financial reserves.

Apart from CWA per capita dues—IAPE is required to send 40% of every dues dollar it receives to our international parent union—and staff payroll and benefits, projected big ticket line items for IAPE for the upcoming bargaining year are legal fees and mobilization. Directors also approved funding for union officer stipends, in the event the next Board of Directors opts to continue those payments when the new term of office begins on Dec. 1.

And the Survey Says . . .
Thanks to the 250 IAPE members who have responded to the 2027 Dow Jones Contract Survey. Extra thanks to the members who answered our steward phone bankers during last week’s member call blitz!

Your feedback on 2027 contract priorities is vital to our preparation of new bargaining proposals. If you haven’t had a chance to fill out our brief survey yet, you still have a chance. See your email for a link to our survey form.

It’s your contract! Tell us what you want!

Reminder: The IAPE Contract Survey

Thanks to the IAPE members who have already submitted responses to our 2027 Bargaining Survey! Your responses have already started to paint a picture of member priorities for a new contract at Dow Jones, and we appreciate your supplemental comments!

If you haven’t had a chance to respond to our survey yet, please take a few minutes to tell us how you feel about ten potential bargaining topics. See the link in your email to respond to the 2027 survey questions!

IAPE stewards will soon be calling members to solicit feedback on IAPE contract priorities. If you happen to see a strange number on your phone, it might be a Dow Jones colleague volunteering for IAPE. 

Interested in being one of our volunteer callers? You can join New York stewards in-person on Sept. 30 or participate from the comfort of your own home. Contact the IAPE office for details!

Tomorrow: IAPE 101
If you were recently hired by Dow Jones, or if you transferred from a non-union position into your current role sometime over the past year, and if you ever wondered where you can go to find out more about this thing called IAPE, we have a suggestion: Sign up for IAPE 101.

Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. EDT, join us for this Zoom presentation and learn more about IAPE. We’ll cover all the basic questions: what is a union? How did you end up in a union? And most importantly, what are the benefits of being in a union?

If you can stick around beyond the first half-hour, we’ll open the virtual floor for any questions you might have. To register and receive your Zoom invitation, sign up through the IAPE Events page.

The 2027 Contract Survey

It’s your contract, tell us what you want!

Fellow IAPE members at Dow Jones, we are officially in the final year of our 2023-2027 contract. The last time IAPE representatives were at the bargaining table with management counterparts we made gains in job security and pay increases, and began laying the groundwork for our fight against unfair use of AI in the workplace.

We’re approximately ten months out from our next bargaining session, so it’s time to begin our series of contract surveys. We’ll begin with this one: What are your priorities for the next contract? 

IAPE representatives will soon get to work analyzing survey results and tailoring our proposals for a new collective bargaining agreement. Your feedback is extremely important! See your email for a link to today’s survey.

And a heads up: you may also receive a phone call or text from an IAPE rep in the coming weeks, asking you for more input on contract priorities. If you happen to see a strange number on your phone, it might be a Dow Jones colleague volunteering for IAPE. We’d love to connect with you!

IAPE Statement on WSJ Opinion Contributor Use of AI

The Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees (IAPE), Local 1096 of The News-Guild-CWA, has proudly represented News staff at The Wall Street Journal for nearly 90 years. Each day, hundreds of dedicated members across the United States and Canada strive to produce top-quality content Journal readers expect, and recognize as among the very best in our industry.

WSJ Opinion staff and contributors are not represented by our union. And they appear to have different standards for content.

Yesterday, IAPE members were as surprised as our readers to learn that a WSJ Opinion piece published Monday afternoon under the name of Stanley F. Druckenmiller was actually written using artificial intelligence. Two days later, the Journal still has not labeled Druckenmiller’s column as AI-generated content, even though editorial page editor Paul Gigot has publicly justified this use of AI as “a fact of modern life.”

Meanwhile, Druckenmiller defends the AI platform’s work: “I don’t know why this is relevant. My name is on the piece. It’s my message.”

Is it?

In our News pages, bylines have meaning. That’s why this union has been fighting for more than a year to reverse an arbitrary WSJ policy change restricting bylines on stories. We believe our readers deserve to know exactly who – and what – has authored and contributed reporting to the stories they pay for. There should be no question whether any WSJ News item has been fully reported and undergone the Journal’s famously rigorous editing process, all by human hands.

IAPE is disappointed by the WSJ Opinion section’s willingness to publish AI-generated content in its Pulitzer Prize-winning pages. WSJ readers deserve better, and our members deserve to have their good work published each day without the taint of Opinion’s AI causing some to wonder whether standards might change on the News side.

Throughout The NewsGuild, unions have been fighting for protections against AI content replacing their members’ work. IAPE intends to negotiate the same in our next contract to protect our jobs, our trust with readers, and the quality, human-authored content the Journal is known for.

IAPE Nomination Deadline Monday

IAPE members, if you are interested in nominating yourself or a colleague to serve on the union’s Board of Directors, your deadline is six days away.

According to the rules for IAPE’s 2026 election of officers, “Nominations must be received by the Election Committee no later than 10:00 a.m. EDT, Monday, August 31, 2026. Nominations must be in writing, and must be submitted either by email (elections@iape1096.org) or by using the nomination form available on the IAPE website.”

You can also visit the union’s website to see a list of current nominations reviewed and approved by the IAPE Election Committee.

We are especially looking for representatives working in Canada and in our Northwest, Southwest and Southeast regions.

Any member in good standing is eligible to serve as an IAPE officer or director. With Dow Jones contract negotiations on the horizon, the next term of office—commencing Dec. 1—is sure to be interesting. Come join the fun!

Psst: We’re Having an Election

Nomination deadline Aug. 31

Hey, IAPE members. We’re letting you in on a little secret: 2026 is an IAPE election year.

Yep, it’s true. You may have missed the Notice of Election our Elections Committee sent last month, so we’re sending this reminder today. Any member in good standing may nominate themselves, or someone else, to serve on the union’s Board of Directors for the term beginning Dec. 1, 2026.

If you’re curious about the responsibilities for any of our officer or director positions, check out our Candidate Toolkit. Or ask one of our current Board members about their experience.

Our deadline for nominations for this year’s election is Aug. 31 at 10:00 a.m. EDT. Names of members who have accepted their nomination to stand in the 2026 IAPE election are posted on the union’s website. To nominate yourself or a colleague, just submit a nomination form.

Tomorrow: IAPE 101
After a brief hiatus, IAPE 101 returns tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 p.m. EDT. If you were recently hired by Dow Jones, or if you transferred from a non-union position into your current role sometime over the past year, and if you ever wondered where you can go to find out more about your union, this half-hour Zoom presentation is a great resource.

Sign up here!

We’ll cover all the basic questions: what is a union? How did you end up in a union? And most importantly, what are the benefits of being in a union? If you can stick around beyond the first half-hour, we’ll open the virtual floor for any questions you might have.

IAPE veterans, you’re welcome to join, too.

If you can’t make it tomorrow, future classes are scheduled for Sept. 2 and Sept. 23. To register and receive your Zoom invitation, sign up through the IAPE Events page.

Where’s That Raise??

Several IAPE members have inquired about our contract’s annual pay increase, effective July 1, and why it has not yet appeared in pay deposits. It’s a reasonable question, one we receive every year at this time. So, it might not be surprising to learn we have the same answer every year, too.

As we mentioned in our July 1 update, “pay raises likely will not be processed until August.” Following recent Labor/Management discussions with company officials, today we can confirm Dow Jones expects new pay rates and retroactive pay increases to appear on the August 20 pay date.

As IAPE does every year, we will review all pay raises to ensure accuracy. If you have any questions about your compensation—before or after raises are calculated—please contact the IAPE office: union@iape1096.org.

Surveying the Contract Landscape
With less than a year remaining in the current collective agreement between IAPE and Dow Jones, members should expect to hear more and more from IAPE representatives about contract priorities and desired changes to the agreement.

Currently, IAPE stewards are hard at work on a new contract survey. This year, members will receive a call from an IAPE steward asking for their thoughts about the contract.

If your phone rings and someone on the other end of the conversation claims to be from IAPE, and asks if you have a few minutes to discuss your contract, we can assure you the call is legit.

And we would love to hear your feedback!

Happy New Year?

New fiscal year, final contract year starts today

IAPE town hall meetings next week!

It’s July 1, which means a new Dow Jones fiscal year has just begun. New rates of pay take effect today—though pay raises likely will not be processed until August—and, believe it or not, our current collective bargaining agreement will expire in 365 days. Oh! And IAPE Board of Directors elections will take place this fall.

Seems like we have a lot to talk about. Good thing there are IAPE town hall meetings scheduled for next week.

Yes, you can join your fellow members and hear IAPE officers, directors, stewards and staff give updates on current events and an outlook for the upcoming contract year. Register to attend one of two Zoom sessions scheduled for Wednesday, July 8: either 1:30 p.m. EDT or 5:30 p.m. EDT.

IAPE reps will also share news about our organizing efforts at Schneps Media and we’ll talk about exciting opportunities to join our steward ranks and get involved in plans for 2027 contract negotiations. We’ll also have time for member questions.

See you next Wednesday—see your email to register!

Happy Holidays!
Very best wishes today to our members living and working north of the border for a safe and happy Canada Day holiday. And to our members here in the U.S.A, we hope you have a wonderful long Independence Day weekend.

If you are ever required to work on a contract-recognized holiday—or on a day observed by the federal government as a holiday, as is the case this Friday, July 3—you are entitled to Holiday Pay. That’s 1.5X pay for your regular hours and 2X pay for any additional hours worked on that day. File for your time in Workday!

In addition to your Holiday Pay, you are entitled to a day off in lieu of the holiday, or an extra day’s pay. Beginning July 3, and for any other holidays for the rest of this calendar year, the choice between a day or a day’s pay is yours!

For assistance filing for your pay, please contact the IAPE office.

Welcome Schneps Media Union

When IAPE was formed in 1937, as the Dow Jones News Department Employees Association of New York, it was set up as an independent union, perhaps as a way to keep the ever-growing American Newspaper Guild out of The Wall Street Journal newsroom. By 1953, our union’s name had changed to the Dow Jones Employees Association Inc. to accommodate staff outside of New York. But because Dow Jones as a company continued to grow and acquire other entities, and because union leaders of the day wished to allow for the possibility of representing workers outside of Dow Jones, a new moniker was adopted.

The Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees. Note the plural possessive of Publishers’. No, that’s not a typo.

Over the years, IAPE has covered workers outside of Dow Jones to a degree. First, staff at SmartMoney Magazine and SmartMoney.com, joint ventures between Dow Jones and Hearst, were welcomed into the IAPE family. Later, the DJ-Reuters collaboration known as Factiva would result in a separate, 300 member IAPE bargaining unit, and at the time, a fourth IAPE contract.

Throughout nearly 90 years of our union’s existence, all IAPE members have had a Dow Jones connection. Until today.

Welcome your new IAPE siblings: the members of the Schneps Media Union.

Under the guidance of IAPE Organizer Marissa Dadiw, workers at Schneps Media filed this morning for certification of their union and requested voluntary recognition from their employer. New Yorkers will recognize their community-focused coverage of the greater New York area at publications including amNY, amNY Law, Brooklyn Paper, The Bronx Times, Brownstoner, QNS, Noticias, New York Family, Staten Island Parent and Caribbean Life. On Long Island, outlets include the Long Island Press and Dan’s Papers.

In a public statement released earlier today, IAPE President Jodi Green welcomed our new members. “We look forward to working together to protect workers’ rights and ensure fair treatment of the workers at Schneps Media,” she said.

Schneps workers explained why they decided to form a union and join IAPE, and by extension, The NewsGuild.

“I want Schneps Media reporters to have a union so that this is a place where employees are valued and celebrated. This not only means better pay, benefits and work environments, but also a greater emphasis on journalistic integrity. Delivering valuable news to our readers is something that is often the only thing keeping us going, and we want a contract that ensures it will not be undercut by external factors,” said Cameryn Oakes, deputy managing editor for the Nassau News division of the Long Island Press.

“Schneps Media reporters can do a lot with a little, but we shouldn’t have to. A union contract will improve our working and living conditions, making it easier to do work that matters. With better pay, benefits, resources and editorial standards, we’ll be better equipped to do what we love, providing hyperlocal news to the communities that rely on us. A rising tide lifts all ships,” said Kirstyn Brendlen, digital editor at Brooklyn Paper.

“Schneps Media offers a rare opportunity to shine a spotlight on hyperlocal issues impacting communities across New York, but we often lack the resources we need and are stretched too thin. Forming a union will help ensure that we are supported in our roles, earn a living wage and have a say in editorial standards at Schneps. I'm proud to be part of this effort, which will lead to better work conditions and even better coverage of the issues facing New Yorkers every day,” said Shane O'Brien, reporter with QNS.

“I'm proud to be part of launching Schneps Media's first-ever union effort. Most of us are passionate about covering NYC communities and really love our jobs. We want to ensure our workplace pays living wages, attracts a diverse talent pool, enforces fair workplace standards and models journalistic integrity. As local journalism faces many threats, established companies like Schneps should step up to ensure their workers are supported,” said Emily Swanson, reporter for the Bronx Times.

We can already tell these newcomers are going to be fantastic additions to the IAPE family. We look forward to watching them grow.

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We encourage all IAPE members to follow our Schneps siblings on X, BlueSky and Instagram. Please support their call for voluntary recognition of their union by signing this petition, a letter to be delivered to Schneps management.