IAPE Board Votes “No” on Organizing

By a count of 10 to 6, with one abstention, the IAPE Board of Directors has voted to reject a resolution to organize workers outside of Dow Jones.

The proposal first presented during the Sept. 21 meeting of the union’s governing board was tabled during that discussion, with an agreement to revisit the resolution during the next regular Board meeting.

As the resolution was being debated, proponents cited recent layoffs at Dow Jones and a declining membership as reasons to expand IAPE representation. Directors opposed to the proposal expressed concerns about representing workers who may have more interest in promoting political or social causes than current union-represented journalists.

With its vote, the IAPE Board preserved the union’s status as the only large Local within The NewsGuild—and one of very few overall—to represent workers at only one employer, and under a single contract.

Layoffs. Again.

More layoffs hit WSJ this week, this time in our South Asia bureau. IAPE members stand in solidarity with all Dow Jones employees affected by layoffs.

IAPE learned Thursday that four Dow Jones employees received layoff notices in South Asia, dwindling the size of the bureau to only three employees. While these employees were not IAPE-represented, they come as the latest blow in a year that has seen huge cuts–even as the company repeatedly boasted record profits. The number of IAPE-represented jobs lost through layoffs in 2024 sits at 79, a count that does not include the slashing of several non-IAPE positions at international bureaus.

This marks the second time in as many months that IAPE has had to put out the notice of our colleagues’ jobs being eliminated with little fanfare.

As Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour said after announcing yet another profitable quarter on November 8, “Our current success would not be possible without the continued hard work and dedication from each of you.” That includes our colleagues who have just lost their jobs. The steady drip of cuts has prompted questions about the company’s stated commitment to quality journalism as it seems uninterested in retaining talent and knowledge–or the burden on those left behind.

Open Enrollment Reminders

Two days after receiving full open enrollment details from Dow Jones, we’re walking back our guidance from the beginning of this month. A little. After testing the “Precision Benefit” decision support tool, we are pleased to report we have been able to receive recommendations to enroll in multiple health insurance options.

This is not intended to be a ringing endorsement of the tool; we still suggest that members review all available information before making a decision on 2025 health care. Also, if you live in a market served by the company’s new Centivo health insurance option, be sure to attend one of the two remaining plan workshops, and check out the pre-recorded video presentation explaining the new plan.

Don’t forget, the deadline to choose 2025 coverage is Nov. 20.

Speaking of deadlines, if you have not yet submitted all receipts toward your annual $700 IAPE Physical Fitness Reimbursement benefit, your deadline to claim 2024 expenses is Nov. 30. Any receipts submitted after Nov. 30 will count toward your 2025 reimbursement limit.

It’s your money! File for it today!

IAPE Needs a new Treasurer – Farewell Austen!
IAPE Treasurer—make that ex-Treasurer—Austen Hufford has left Dow Jones and, after a period of remaining active with IAPE, has now vacated his position on the union’s Board of Directors. Austen sends along this update and farewell message to his fellow members:

Hello, I’m Austen Hufford. I’m a journalist and I’ve served as the treasurer for IAPE 1096 since 2020.

I joined The Wall Street Journal and became an IAPE member in 2015 in New York. I then moved to Chicago to cover U.S. manufacturing, before heading to Washington, D.C. as a national economics reporter.

It’s been a privilege working alongside IAPE President Jodi Green, Executive Director Tim Martell and the dedicated staff and board members at IAPE. The entire organization advocates tirelessly for our fellow Dow Jones colleagues.

As we all know, the media industry faces significant challenges. For Dow Jones to thrive, it must attract, retain and fairly compensate the best talent in the industry. IAPE is here to protect our rights and fight for increased pay and benefits.

Earlier this year, I was laid off along with many of our colleagues in D.C., fellow IAPE members who’ve dedicated decades to Dow Jones. I chose to remain involved with the union after the layoff, to help secure a new contract for all of us.

I have stepped down from my role at IAPE and am taking a break from full-time journalism. I’ll be enrolling in a two-year intensive program at a yeshiva in Jerusalem, focused on Jewish studies. I’m looking forward to immersing myself in Torah study and values that have supported strong families and communities for generations. You’re welcome to follow my journey by subscribing to my newsletter, Yom Yeshiva, at yomyeshiva.substack.com.

This opportunity to further my education is only possible due to the severance and retraining benefits that our union has successfully negotiated with the company over decades. I intend to return to journalism full-time in a few years.

Next Week: 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.

Next Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 2:00 p.m. EST, join us for this Zoom presentation and learn more about your union. 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.

To register and receive your Zoom invitation, sign up through the IAPE Events page.

IMPORTANT: Open Enrollment Guidance and Cautions

On Wednesday, Dow Jones employees received an announcement from Dianne DeSevo that Open Enrollment starts on November 6 and ends on November 20. 

There are a couple of changes to note: 

1. A new medical plan option called Centivo Partnership Plan (according to the website only available in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas) is being offered. Be sure to visit the website and read carefully what this new plan offers and costs. The yearly premium for this new plan has yet to be released. The company is offering four workshops to learn about Centivo, as well as a pre-recorded workshop. Additionally, always do your own research.

2. As you may remember from bargaining updates, IAPE negotiated a new benefit for doula reimbursement. While we did not negotiate the reimbursement amount, the announcement from Dianne DeSevo confirms that the benefit will be implemented by Dow Jones with a reimbursement amount of $2,000. 

CAUTION: The Dow Jones Open Enrollment process still offers a decision support tool. In the past, this tool has been called “Ask Alex” and “Pilot”. For the 2025 Open Enrollment period the decision support tool is called “Precision Benefit”. 

Regardless of its name, in the past, the tool provided by Dow Jones to assist in choosing appropriate healthcare coverage remained the same in its inefficiency in suggesting appropriate coverage. Each year we hear from IAPE members that no matter what information they enter into this tool, the system always selects the high-deductible CDHP plan as the primary option. This misleads members to assume that this is, in fact, the right option for them. However, many times this is not the case and we hear during the year that members’ healthcare costs have skyrocketed because they did not choose the appropriate plan for them. NOTE: You cannot switch Dow Jones health insurance plans outside of Open Enrollment.

In the past, IAPE has informed Dow Jones of our concerns with the decision support tool and highlighted that the tool does not suggest the POS II Plan as an insurance option.

We are not yet able to test out this year’s “Precision Benefit” tool since it will not be rolled out until November 6. That being said, as in the past, IAPE has not received any assurance that the “Precision Benefit” will be any more accurate this year. Therefore, we offer the same caution this year: do not rely on Precision Benefit to lead you in the right direction. We recommend reviewing each plan and choosing the healthcare option that is best for your needs.. 

If you were unable to attend IAPE’s Contract 101 on Healthcare, you can find a link to the recording on IAPE Slack. Click here to sign up for IAPE Slack.

Open Enrollment & Healthcare Coverage - Join Our Contract Q&A

With little more than a week left in the month of October, Dow Jones employees will soon be receiving reminders about open enrollment for 2025 health insurance coverage.

Making sure you have the right coverage for you and your family is a big deal. And as we have noted in previous years, you can’t always rely on company resources to point you in the right direction.

That’s why we’re inviting all IAPE members to join tomorrow’s Contract 101 session, when we’ll present an overview of three medical and prescription coverage levels for members working in the United States. We’ll also highlight dental and vision options.

To join, please visit the IAPE Events Page and register for the Oct. 23 class. We’ll begin our Zoom meeting at 2:00 p.m. EDT, and we’ll make sure to have plenty of time for Q&A.

Do you have horror stories about choosing the wrong coverage level in the past? Come share with our newer members! Let’s make sure all IAPE-represented employees have the tools they need to make informed decisions about healthcare coverage.

Join us tomorrow for Contract 101!

Layoffs: That Old Familiar Pain

Earlier this week, Dow Jones quietly eliminated ten more IAPE-represented positions through the layoff process. Management decided to outsource operations performed by the Princeton-based Content Curation team—resulting in a loss of eight IAPE members—and also cut two Software Engineering jobs.

Unless you worked closely with departments hit by layoffs this week, you might never have known why these members are leaving the company, or that they are leaving at all. You might never have realized that Dow Jones lopped another 115 years of collective experience off its payroll this week. You may never have guessed that management decided it’s time to say, “so long” to dedicated employees who have spent 25 years—and longer—contributing to the success of Dow Jones, because someone decided their work is better performed by someone who has never worked for Dow Jones at all.

With these position eliminations, the total of IAPE-represented jobs lost through layoff in 2024 has risen to 76. Management has cut 145 IAPE-covered positions since the beginning of 2023. While many of those layoffs were attention-getting moves both inside and outside the company, because nothing generates news like cutting jobs in News, this week’s cuts have gone largely unnoticed.

We noticed. Members affected by layoffs this week have noticed, and their families will too.

There is no contractual provision or law preventing the company from opting to eliminate job functions, to move work to overseas locations or to outsource roles to other companies. We enforce our contract’s layoff provisions and require the company to live up to its severance and post-termination benefits obligations. We call attention to short-sighted, boneheaded, bottom-line-boosting, management decisions.

We also send best wishes to our departing co-workers, colleagues and friends. There is life after Dow Jones. We hope you all find an employer who truly appreciates your talents.

Those Other Layoffs: Not Ours
In the wake of this week’s layoffs, some Dow Jones managers circulated a New York State WARN filing indicating 69 layoffs in New York were also underway.

That’s not us.

That required filing was submitted by News Corp last month in advance of the decision to eliminate jobs at the US Sun.

WARN, or Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, filings are required when an employer closes a work location or cuts a significant portion of its workforce in a single location. In New York, WARN filings are required when a company cuts a third of its workforce, or more than 250 employees.

CWA Hurricane Relief
IAPE’s parent union, the Communications Workers of America, maintains a relief fund for members affected by natural disasters. Dues-paying IAPE members in good standing who have suffered losses as a result of FEMA-recognized disasters have up to six months to apply for CWA benefits. Disaster grants are also available through UnionPlus.

IAPE members who wish to contribute to members affected by Hurricane Helene or Milton can send donations to the CWA Disaster Relief Fund.

Monday, is That a Holiday?
While some of IAPE’s Guild peers in the United States have contract language recognizing Indigenous Peoples Day or Columbus Day as paid holidays, Monday is a regular work day for almost all of us at Dow Jones.

Except for members north of the border, where it is Thanksgiving weekend.

To our friends in Ontario and Quebec, we send best wishes for a safe and happy holiday. To the rest of you, see you on Monday!

Next Week: 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.

Next Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 2:00 p.m. EDT, join us for this Zoom presentation and learn more about your union. 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.

To register and receive your Zoom invitation, sign up through the IAPE Events page. While you’re there, feel free to enroll for the next installment of IAPE Contract 101, scheduled for Oct. 23.

Happening Tomorrow, TNG Strike School!
We’ve been talking about it for weeks, and it’s finally almost here: The NewsGuild's third annual Strike School takes place tomorrow!!

In recent years, more and more Guild members, including IAPE members, have engaged in collective actions up to and including work stoppages. TNG is building a culture of being a striking union. Because of that, The Guild is excited to announce that Saturday, Sept. 28, they will be hosting a NewsGuild-CWA union-wide Strike School.

In these panels and workshops, we’ll hear from fellow workers who have been on strike and learn practical skills necessary to prepare our unit. Even though our new contract with Dow Jones remains in effect through June of 2027, it’s never too early to learn what a strike is all about. IAPE members are encouraged to join!

This class is scheduled to run from 12:00 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Sept. 28 via Zoom.

The deadline to register for this event is tonight at 8:00 p.m. EDT. Register directly with TNG at https://forms.gle/6yifL4QJnBaseTYJ6.

Union Directors Pause Organizing Resolution

During a Saturday meeting of the IAPE Board of Directors, regional representatives of the union voted to table a resolution calling on IAPE to organize workers outside of Dow Jones.

The resolution proposed the eventual addition of up to four unnamed publishing and media groups as new IAPE bargaining units, as well as establishing a process for the union’s Board to evaluate and approve future organizing targets.

Currently, IAPE is the only large Local union within The NewsGuild—and one of very few overall—representing workers at only one employer, and under a single contract.

Recent successes in union recruitment under the leadership of IAPE organizer Marissa Dadiw have resulted in additions of Wall Street Journal Photo Editors and New York MarketWatch staff to the existing unit of Dow Jones employees. However, some IAPE directors expressed concern with opportunities to expand IAPE’s mission beyond its current core.

Proponents of the resolution, meanwhile, note that Dadiw’s salary is funded by IAPE’s parent unions, The Guild and the Communications Workers of America, and that IAPE has an obligation to share in the current trend of media organizing.

With the resolution set aside until at least the next meeting of the IAPE Board in October, union officers and directors will seek feedback from members in their locations.

What do you think about IAPE expanding to represent workers elsewhere? All member feedback is welcome! Send your thoughts to union@iape1096.org.

FY2025 Budget Passed
Union directors approved a new budget and plans to increase spending by 6.30% over the next fiscal year, which begins on Oct. 1.

The three most-expensive IAPE line items continue to be per capita payments to CWA, staff salaries and legal fees. The union is planning for at least two grievance arbitration hearings scheduled to be held later this fall, with the possibility of additional hearings next year.

The budget projects a small surplus of $5,500 over the next 12 months.

Sign Our AI Letter!
There’s still time to sign the IAPE open letter calling for a town hall meeting to answer members’ important AI questions!

Back in May, News Corp inked a $250 million deal with OpenAI. At the time, corporate announcements about the new partnership were long on hype and woefully short on details of how the influence of OpenAI might impact employees.

That hasn’t changed.

Months later, throughout Dow Jones, employees are encouraged to use new artificial intelligence tools and development has been underway on projects, but we still have not seen any meaningful information on how the company plans to use AI that could affect the jobs of IAPE members.

You deserve to know how the OpenAI partnership will affect your job. Sign our letter!

This Saturday: TNG Strike School
The NewsGuild's third annual Strike School is just days away!!

In recent years, more and more Guild members, including IAPE members, have engaged in collective actions up to and including work stoppages. TNG is building a culture of being a striking union. Because of that, The Guild is excited to announce that this Saturday, Sept. 28, they will be hosting a NewsGuild-CWA union-wide Strike School.

In these panels and workshops, we’ll hear from fellow workers who have been on strike and learn practical skills necessary to prepare our unit. Even though our new contract with Dow Jones remains in effect through June of 2027, it’s never too early to learn what a strike is all about. IAPE members are encouraged to join!

This class is scheduled to run from 12:00 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Sept. 28 via Zoom.

The deadline to register for this event is Sept. 27 at 8:00 p.m. EDT. Register directly with TNG at https://forms.gle/6yifL4QJnBaseTYJ6.

NLRB to Dow Jones: No

Labor Board rejects management request for review of WSJ Photo Editor win

In a long-awaited decision, the National Labor Relations Board announced yesterday it has rejected a petition by Dow Jones & Company to review the NLRB decision that made Photo Editors and Lead Photo Editors at The Wall Street Journal eligible for IAPE representation.

This final determination by the Board follows a Sept. 8, 2023, unanimous vote by Photo Editors to join IAPE, believed to be a fitting conclusion after their Sept. 9, 2022, petition to form a union.

NLRB said the company’s request for an appeal raised “no substantial issues warranting review.”

This, combined with the facts that Photo Editors and Lead Photo Editors have been recognized as IAPE-represented employees since last year, and IAPE and Dow Jones agreed to remove an exclusion for Photo Editors from the new 2023-27 contract, should finally bring this saga to a close.

Learn About Your Union!

Join us tomorrow for 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.

If you can spare a half hour tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. EDT, join us for this Zoom presentation and learn more about your union. 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?

And if you can stick around beyond the first half-hour, we’ll open the virtual floor for questions. Having trouble understanding all these pay increase messages? Wondering why you didn’t qualify for an 8.0% raise? (Or even better, why you received more than 8.0%?) We’ll answer as many questions as we can.

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

To register and receive your Zoom invitation, sign up through the IAPE Events page. While you’re there, feel free to enroll for the next installment of IAPE Contract 101, scheduled for Oct. 23.

See you tomorrow!

IAPE Board of Directors Meeting
On Saturday, Sept. 21, IAPE’s elected representatives will meet in New York for the fall 2024 gathering of the IAPE Board of Directors.

IAPE Directors meet to discuss matters of importance to the union, to set policy and to define strategy for union matters. During the September meeting, the Board also approves a budget for the next union fiscal year.

All members are eligible to attend this meeting. If you are interested in attending in person, or would like to connect remotely, please RSVP at the IAPE Events Page.