IAPE @ Work: February—Setting the Agenda

We are a full quarter into the new contract and have finally completed ironing out language for negotiated changes with the company. You can find a digital version in the contract section of our website and access the updated job description and scales document there as well. Feel free to reach out to the union office or your representative with questions about the new collective bargaining agreement and stay tuned for hard copies in your location.

Progress on Parental Leave 
Dow Jones employees no longer have to wait a year in between coming back from parental leave before being eligible to take another, a policy change that followed a union request on behalf of an expecting IAPE member. We raised the matter at our labor management meeting with the company in October, and are pleased the company heard our position on the baby blackout period.  

Late Fee Follow Up
At our January meeting, the company confirmed that employees aren’t responsible for late fees on corporate credit cards if they submitted expenses within 30 days of incurring charges. A number of members reached out to request we add the issue to our agenda after having to pay $39 (and more) out of pocket because of administrative delays in approving expense reports. Please reach out to the union office or your representative if you are still having issues. 

Change to Book Leave Policy
You may not have noticed, but the News department recently changed its book leave policy. A reporter “will likely be permanently reassigned” from their beat and return to a new assignment after completing the book leave under changes to the policy made last month. Exceptions will have to come from Matt Murray. We don’t think such a revision is necessary or encouraging to our members who have proven to be leaders on their beats. We also think that policy changes should be announced and made official after consultation with the union. We have shared our concerns with Newsroom management and plan to continue to pass along member feedback about the new policy. 

Pay Reviews 
The IAPE office is asking members seeking a pay review to email payreview@iape1096.org with their requests. You will receive an automatic message confirming that you have been placed in the queue and we will get back to you with an individual analysis within 5 to 7 days. In some cases we may need to reach out to get additional information to complete the review. 

We encourage those who are looking for pay comparisons for a potential job change to reach out before the process has started to allow enough time for us to compile the information. 

As a reminder, we can tell you how your pay stacks up against other people’s, including people who have similar responsibilities, have a comparable number of years of experience, or who work in your location, with gender breakdowns in many cases. We won’t tell you what any other individual makes, but we can tell you how your salary compares to that of at least half a dozen similarly situated employees. For more information, check out Our Guide to Pay at Dow Jones.

Training/Other Upcoming Events
We kicked off our new training program last month and will be keeping it up throughout 2020. We encourage all members to participate in IAPE 101 at least once throughout the year to learn more about the basics of our union and how you can help make us stronger. Join us for the next session on March 25 at 2 p.m. ET by Google Hangout or in person in New York and Princeton. RSVP here. 

We also have some other IAPE events coming up in New York & Princeton. Stay tuned for more details and calendar invites next week. 

March 5 at 5 p.m. - Happy Hour at 1211

March 6 at 12 p.m. - Lunch with IAPE at Princeton 

Notice of IAPE Board Meeting
The Spring meeting of IAPE’s board of directors will be held March 21 and 22 at the NewsGuild of New York’s headquarters in Times Square. Members are encouraged to come for all or part of the weekend and there will be an opportunity for member comment, which can be submitted by email for those who aren’t able to attend in person. If you would like to attend, please email union@iape1096.org with “Board Meeting” in the subject line.