IAPE Files Labor Board Complaint Over Bylines, Taglines

“Non-negotiable” policy requires bargaining, union says

The Wall Street Journal management’s puzzling decision to restrict bylines and eliminate taglines will be reviewed by the National Labor Relations Board after IAPE TNG-CWA Local 1096 filed a complaint today.

The charge, delivered to NLRB Region 2 in New York, accuses Dow Jones of unfair labor practices by unilaterally imposing new byline and tagline policies that deny journalists credit for their work and by refusing to negotiate over terms and conditions.

The union alleges that management’s actions violate IAPE members’ rights under Section 8(a)1 and 8(a) 5 of the National Labor Relations Act.

“Since at least February 13, 2025, the Company has failed and refused to bargain in good faith,” the union said in its NLRB complaint. “WSJ management has imposed a new policy restricting the number of bylines per article, and has eliminated tagline credits. Management has referred to the new policy as ‘nonnegotiable.’”

After hearing that WSJ management refuses to allow more than three bylines per story and has eliminated tagline credits for staff who contribute to a story, IAPE’s Labor-Management Committee tried to negotiate with company officials over terms and conditions of the new policy. Instead, management representatives told the union that bylines are an area of “editorial discretion” and that negotiations are not necessary.

IAPE disagrees, and is prepared to argue that byline and tagline policies are mandatory elements of bargaining in general. This position is underscored by WSJ management’s practice of considering byline and tagline totals when evaluating performance and disciplining employees.

Meanwhile, it is standard practice at several of WSJ’s direct competitors to regularly include multiple names for numerous contributors in bylined articles.

The union’s charge will be reviewed by NLRB Region 2 staff to determine whether formal action is warranted.

IAPE is no stranger to the Labor Board, having filed charges against Dow Jones for failing to bargain over pandemic benefits. IAPE and Dow Jones also participated in a regional hearing to determine whether Photo Editors should be included in the IAPE bargaining unit at Dow Jones.

Tonight: TNG Members Invited to “Defend our Free Press”

This evening, at 8:00 p.m. EDT, The NewsGuild will hold a virtual membership meeting for all Guild and NABET local unions. All IAPE members are eligible and invited to attend.

Tonight’s meeting theme will be “Defend our Free Press.” TNG President Jon Schleuss will share an overview of the attacks on unions, journalists and our free press. Attendees will then move into Zoom breakout rooms.

Guild members and staff will facilitate a discussion in smaller groups about how the current threats to free press and unions are impacting our work, how our employers are responding and what we can do collectively in response to those threats.

Please join us! This meeting will begin at 8:00 p.m. EDT. Register here to receive your Zoom invitation.

IAPE Outraged at Dow Jones UK Union Busting

The Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees (IAPE), Local 1096 of The NewsGuild-CWA, calls on Dow Jones management to stop outrageous union busting efforts at its London offices.

In February of this year, newsroom staff at The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires in London organized as a chapel under the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and served notice on Dow Jones management that they sought recognition as an independent union.

Yesterday, just three days before Dow Jones's deadline to voluntarily recognize NUJ, or else face their petition with a UK arbitration body, Dow Jones Chief People Officer Dianne DeSevo informed staff that “the Company decided not to recognize the NUJ as it would only represent a small subset of our colleagues,” and that instead, “we looked at the representative body for our sister companies, News UK and NCS UK, at London Bridge.”

“We felt News Union was a better option than the NUJ because they are able to represent all eligible Dow Jones International (DJI) employees, not just those in the Newsroom,” DeSevo wrote. “Therefore, the Company has signed a recognition agreement with News Union.”

It must be springtime, because that’s a lot of fertilizer.

In a statement released today, our colleagues and organizers of the NUJ effort said, “Dow Jones employees representing a strong majority of eligible NUJ members in London have been speaking in good faith with the company in an effort to reach agreement about independent union recognition we believe would be good for the company and its employees. We are disappointed the company chose instead to bypass these discussions in favor of a company-organized and company-funded News Corp. union that until now Dow Jones had not recognized. We are seeking advice about our options under these circumstances.”

NUJ General Secretary Laura Davison called Dow Jones’s union busting action “a blatantly cynical attempt to circumvent our members’ right to collective representation by the trade union of their choice.”

In 2001, News Union was denied a certificate of independence because a UK certificator deemed it had “not yet reached the stage where it can be said that the vulnerability to interference by the employer is insignificant.”

News Union receives almost all its income from News UK and NCS UK. Annual filings from News Union indicate it does not generate any revenue from membership dues.

IAPE knows a company union when it sees one. While the National Labor Relations Act outlawed such bodies in the United States in 1935, IAPE was first incorporated in 1937 as the Dow Jones Employees Association as a means of keeping strong, international unions—like what was then known as the American Newspaper Guild, which would eventually become The NewsGuild of today—out of the WSJ newsroom.

This is a despicable way for history to repeat itself.

After decades of fighting to become a true union, IAPE eventually established itself as a representative body for Dow Jones employees in the United States and Canada, affiliated with the Communications Workers of America in 1996 and eventually became a full-fledged Guild local union.

We see no reason why our colleagues in the United Kingdom should experience a similar struggle. IAPE calls on Dow Jones management to respect the democratic choice made by its employees in London, and to recognize the NUJ as the rightful bargaining agent for WSJ and Newswires staff, as petitioned for in February.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

The Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees, Local 1096 of The NewsGuild-CWA, is the union for employees of Dow Jones & Company working in the United States and Canada. IAPE represents over 1,300 employees in News, Sales, Technology, Administration, Finance, Customer Service and Building Support departments at all Dow Jones products and publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s MarketWatch, Factiva, Dow Jones Newswires and Dow Jones Risk & Compliance.

For more information, contact union@iape1096.org

Tariff-ic News: You’re Going to Get Paid

Weekend work must be compensated. Find out how!

IAPE members across the United States and Canada have inboxes full of “well done” emails from managers this morning—and for good reason. Tariff coverage provided over the weekend by News staff at Dow Jones publications was second to none.

However, we have yet to see a message from management reminding members that work assigned and performed on scheduled days off MUST be compensated, and cannot simply be exchanged for a day off this week, or sometime in the future.

For overtime-eligible employees—titles like Photo Editor, Graphics Reporter, or Publishing Editor—pay for hours assigned on your weekend day is straightforward: you are owed overtime, at 1.5X your regular rate of pay, for your weekend work.

For overtime-exempt employees—like Reporters, Special Writers, or Lead Photo Editors—your weekend work earns Comp Time. It must also be “paid” or credited at a rate of 1.5X, which means you earn an hour-and-one-half of Comp Time for an hour of work. IAPE-represented employees can receive up to 12 hours of Comp Time—for eight hours of work—on a scheduled day off.

For assignments performed at home, Comp Time eligibility kicks in after two hours of work are performed—but at that moment, those first two hours must also be compensated. For assignments outside your home, Comp Time eligibility begins immediately, as soon as you step outside your door.

Most importantly, once Comp Time is earned and logged in Workday, it is yours to keep, to use at a later date, or to cash out. Comp time may be exchanged for cash without question 30 days after it has been earned, or sooner with your manager’s permission.

If you earn Comp Time, you must file your time in Workday. Allowing your boss to give you one day off in exchange for a full weekend day of work falls short of our contractual requirements. And even if you want to use time off instead of exchanging your time for cash, you get to decide when to request that time off—you don’t need to accept a day off assigned by your manager.

See more overtime and Comp Time information at https://www.iape1096.org/overtime-comp-time, and check out today’s FAQ section at the bottom of this note. Please note that IAPE is aware of a recent Dow Jones layout change to its Workday profile, so you may need to dig a bit to find the cash out option for Comp Time. The union’s guidance on that subject will be updated as soon as possible.

A special note to members outside of News: the above guidance applies to you too! If you have been assigned work on a scheduled day off, please follow this same overtime or Comp Time guidance.

Learn More About Compensation . . . and IAPE!
We could talk about overtime, Comp Time, and all the other ways IAPE members can earn extra compensation all day. And on May 21, we will . . . well, for an hour, at least.

Join IAPE reps for our next Contract 101 class, where we will discuss all things related to compensation: your annual raise, extra pay, paid time off, and how to request an IAPE pay review. Visit the IAPE Events Page to register for this class, and while you’re there, consider joining this week’s IAPE 101 class—scheduled for Wednesday, Apr. 9 at 2:00 p.m. EDT.

Next Wednesday, Apr. 16, IAPE representatives will be hosting our next steward training class. If you have ever wondered about a steward’s member representation responsibilities and legal rights, this class is for you! IAPE leaders will cover the special position of steward as a representative during disciplinary meetings and will practice with some mock sessions.

Register for IAPE Steward Training 3, scheduled for Wednesday, Apr. 16 from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m., at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/IcdwhKeVS1K6iKngGzSBog#/registration

The NewsGuild: Defend our Free Press
All IAPE members are invited to attend a meeting open to all members of The NewsGuild-CWA this Thursday, Apr. 10 at 8:00 p.m. EDT. Entitled “Defend our Free Press,” this meeting will feature international Guild leaders discussing how workers, unions and journalists are under attack. Members will discuss the threats to our union, members and our industry. Attendees will hear from Guild members in the field on how these threats are playing out and together will develop strategies and actions for a national campaign to Defend Our Free Press.

Register to attend: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/dbmD_XJmQKGcXBs9-Y3j_A

Overtime and Comp Time FAQ
You’ve scrolled all the way to the bottom of this message to find out more about overtime and Comp Time. Welcome! We hope you had a chance to browse through some other IAPE news on your way here. And we hope we are able to offer some tips on when and how to file for extra compensation—but if you still have any uncertainty after reading today’s advisory, please feel free to email us at union@iape1096.org. IAPE Slack is also a great resource for crowdsourcing answers to your questions—members only can find us at https://iape1096.slack.com/. If you aren’t an IAPE Slack member yet, sign up here!

• I’m an overtime-eligible employee, can I earn Comp Time? No. Work performed by overtime-eligible employees after regular hours or on scheduled days off must be compensated with overtime pay. Comp Time is only available to overtime-exempt employees.

• I’m a Senior Software Engineer, I was called for support on the weekend. Am I eligible for Comp Time? If you worked from home and required more than two hours to complete your assignment, you may file for Comp Time.

• I’m eligible for Comp Time and I worked from home on Saturday for four hours. So, I file for two hours of Comp Time, right? No, you file for all four hours of work. While you must work longer than two hours to earn Comp Time when working from home, as soon as you cross that two-hour threshold, your first two hours must also be included for Comp Time.

• I’m an overtime-eligible employee. Do I also need to work longer than two hours to file for overtime? No. Overtime is required beginning with the first minute of any assigned weekend work, and must be paid in fifteen-minute increments. So, if you were called for support on Saturday and you worked for 20 minutes, you are entitled to a half-hour of overtime pay.

• I am overtime-exempt. My manager didn’t assign work over the weekend, I just decided to clean up a project I’m working on. How much Comp Time do I get? None. Comp Time is available when extra work is assigned by a manager, or “reasonably expected” to be done specifically on your scheduled day off. You cannot charge for hours you work in the ordinary course of completing your work.

• I am overtime eligible. My manager didn't assign work over the weekend, I just decided to clean up a project I'm working on. Do I get overtime pay? You are entitled to overtime pay for the weekend work unless your manager flexes your regular work hours during the same payroll week so that you worked only 35 total hours. However, if your department has a policy that requires you to get approval in advance before working overtime hours, your manager may be unhappy with you and your decision to work the hours on the weekend without getting permission could be a problem and could even result in disciplinary action. Best practice is to ask first.

• My boss said they will give me a day off in exchange for the work I did on Saturday. That’s the same as Comp Time, right? No. First of all, if you are overtime eligible, then you get paid overtime pay and your manager cannot substitute Comp Time. Second, if you are overtime-exempt and worked an eight-hour day on Saturday (and Saturday was your scheduled day off) you are entitled to twelve hours’ worth of Comp Time, not just one day off. Plus, once you earn Comp Time, you get to schedule it whenever you want (subject to department availability). You also can exchange your Comp Time for cash.

• I’m overtime-eligible, but my boss said the department can’t pay overtime right now. Then you should feel free to tell your boss you can’t work overtime right now. On this point, Dow Jones and IAPE are in full agreement: if you occupy an overtime-eligible position and your boss assigns weekend work, you’re owed overtime pay. Period.

NewsGuild Joins Lawsuit Challenging Shutdown of U.S. Agency for Global Media

Journalists, federal workers, and their unions last week sued the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), its Acting Director Victor Morales, and Special Adviser Kari Lake to challenge “the unlawful shuttering of the agency and silencing of global media.”

The lawsuit was filed Friday in the Southern District of New York in response to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order on March 14 effectively shutting down Voice of America and killing grant funding for Radio Free Asia and for Radio Free Europe.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit say that the agency has failed to fulfill its legally required functions and violated both the freedom of journalists and the separation of powers when it ordered staff not to report to work, suspended contractors, turned off VOA’s news service, and locked the agency’s doors.

During a Monday news conference outside the U.S. District Courthouse in Manhattan, The NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss said that the Guild is “proud to join this lawsuit” seeking a temporary restraining order reversing the Mar. 14 action.

Schleuss said unions and workers have joined together to “fight this illegal action by the executive branch,” and called the USAGM shutdown “part of a long, troubling pattern by Donald Trump.”

“He has targeted journalists at CBS News for ‘60 Minutes’ reporting,” Schleuss said. “He has blocked Associated Press members from being able to attend White House events, he has blocked Reuters and Huffington Post and others, and he has also seized control of the Press Pool.”

Steve Herman, Chief National Correspondent and former White House Bureau Chief for VOA, called the USAGM dismantling “unconstitutional and unlawful,” and said that “defendants have maligned VOA journalists without basis as incompetent and even as terrorist sympathizers.”

Herman emphasized the risks that USAGM staffers from other nations face, saying that “journalists on J1 visas face imminent return to their countries, where some would certainly face prosecution and prison.”

Lead Counsel Andrew Celli explained that the parties will appear in court this Friday, and that he is seeking a ruling “to arrest and reverse the dismantling of the Voice of America.”

In addition to TNG-CWA, lawsuit plaintiffs include the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and seven individual workers. VOA White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara is the lead plaintiff.

Workers at Radio Free Asia are represented by the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, Local 32035 of TNG-CWA. IAPE is also a TNG-CWA Local union.

REMINDER: Join us tomorrow for Contract 101

In light of recent layoffs, members may appreciate a deeper understanding of how the IAPE contract protects employees from arbitrary layoffs. It can also be helpful to be aware of your contractual rights when a manager delivers a surprise invitation to an investigatory or disciplinary meeting.

Join us tomorrow, Wednesday, March 19 at 2:00 p.m. EDT for IAPE’s Contract 101, where we will focus on just cause protections, layoffs, seniority and severance.

Visit the IAPE Events Page to register for this Zoom presentation.

Be a Steward!

And join us Wednesday, March 19 for steward training

IAPE is on the lookout for new stewards to join our ranks of volunteers. Stewards are regular union members who talk with fellow members, identify common issues and problem solve, all to create a more positive work environment.

We have some exciting training opportunities—starting Wednesday evening—to help you kick off your role as an IAPE steward. “Organizing Conversations” will explore how to talk to colleagues and keep people connected and engaged with IAPE in between contract negotiations. We’ll talk about the importance of listening, how to make new connections, and tips on moving colleagues to action. And, of course, we’ll practice!

This session will be held Wednesday, March 19 from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. EDT. Register for this Zoom event at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Wi-QQnrtSFSj6PNtpN8u0Q

Contract 101!

The IAPE Contract 101 series is a great way to learn more about the collective agreement.

The next edition of IAPE’s Contract 101 will be held on Wednesday, March 19 at 2:00 p.m. EDT and will focus on just cause protections, layoffs, seniority and severance.

Visit the IAPE Events Page to register for this Zoom presentation.

In light of recent layoffs, members may appreciate a deeper understanding of how the IAPE contract protects employees from arbitrary layoffs. It can also be helpful to be aware of your contractual rights when a manager delivers a surprise invitation to an investigatory or disciplinary meeting.

Join your colleagues and IAPE representatives next Wednesday!

COME JOIN YOUR FELLOW EMPLOYEES!

Have you wanted to get more involved in your union but weren’t sure how?  Becoming a steward is a great first step! We will be holding 2 more Steward Information sessions this week. Come learn what being a steward is all about. 

Sign up for a virtual info session! Hosted by current IAPE stewards and board members–the sessions will take place on Wednesday, March 12 at 1:00 p.m. EDT and 5:00 p.m. EDT. Join us to learn the answers to all your burning questions like “what even is a union steward?” and “how much of a time commitment is it?” (hint: not a lot!)

Register via this google form to lock in your spot today. Can’t wait to see you there!

WSJ Cuts News Staff Again

IAPE members are once again outraged at the news that several colleagues, including six IAPE-represented WSJ reporters, were laid off today in the San Francisco and New York bureaus.

Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones leadership continue to insist the waves of layoffs at bureaus across the country aren’t for cost cutting, but instead part of a restructuring—one which seems to have no end.

Earlier Tuesday, IAPE filed a grievance disputing the separation of some reporters in the San Francisco Technology Bureau into different departments, which may have improperly impacted seniority protection.

If Dow Jones violated our collective agreement with these latest layoffs, we’ll hold them accountable.

Your Dow Jones Colleagues Need Your Help!!

Sign up to be an IAPE steward and:

• mobilize coworkers

• help answer questions about our rights under the contract

• get involved with disciplinary, investigative meetings with management 

IAPE members who face disciplinary or investigative hearings have the right to have a union representative present. Under our new contract, management notifies IAPE of the hearings in advance, and members often opt to have a union rep to assist them through the process. Learn how this process works, and how to generally be a resource for your colleagues!

Want to learn more about becoming an IAPE steward? Sign up for a virtual info session! Hosted by current IAPE stewards and board members–the sessions will take place on Tuesday, March 4 and Wednesday, March 12 at 1:00 p.m. ET and 5:00 p.m. ET.

Register via this google form to lock in your spot today. Can’t wait to see you there!