Layoffs and Seniority: Your “Department” Matters

Seniority is a bedrock right of the labor movement. In a union-represented environment, the presence of a seniority clause within a contract generally means employees with longer tenure have greater protection when a company chooses to eliminate positions through layoff. 

Seniority protection rewards experienced employees, often those with higher salaries, for their loyalty to a company and protects those staffers from being targeted for economic layoffs when an employer seeks a quick and easy way to save money through workforce reductions.

The collective agreement between IAPE and Dow Jones contains a seniority clause, but it has loopholes that have left some members vulnerable to layoff even though they aren’t the most junior employees. That’s because seniority applies at the department level, and how Dow Jones defines your work group can have significant ramifications for whether you’re protected.

Under the terms of the IAPE/DJ contract, seniority groups are determined by reviewing hire dates of employees with the same title, working in the same department and assigned to the same location. However, a department is defined as “the area of the Company in which the Employee in question works and which is supervised by a Department Head who reports to a Manager at a level equivalent to a Vice President or a Deputy to a Vice President.”

Practically what this means is this: You may have a job similar to a colleague who has less service time, but you still may be exposed to an economic layoff if you work under different managers. Customer Service Associates assigned to the Customer Service - Consumer department aren’t all part of the same seniority group. Their seniority protection is determined according to which of the eight Customer Service department heads supervise their work. The same is true for sales staff working under one of five department heads in Direct Sales, Reporters and Special Writers assigned to one of five department heads in Life & Work, or Software Engineers working under five department heads in WSJ Mobile.

We could go on.

The “department” issue has long been a problem for IAPE. The company’s ability to determine department structures gives management significant discretion in reducing seniority protection. We’ve seen exactly this all too often.

Closing contract loopholes can only be achieved through the collective bargaining process. When the union and the company will negotiate a successor contract next year, you can be sure that IAPE will attempt to strengthen job security through the modification of existing contract language.

In the meantime, we encourage IAPE members to be aware of their own seniority protection. If you’re considering a move to a new team, find out exactly what the department structure is for that group, and how your seniority protection will be affected. If you’re unsure of your seniority standing within your current department, find out who the department head is for your group. If you require assistance, IAPE can provide your seniority ranking relative to other employees reporting to the same department head.

Contract 101: Job Security
You can learn more about seniority and other contract job security protections when IAPE hosts its next Contract 101 class on Nov. 3. The Contract 101 series is a great way to learn more about the IAPE/DJ agreement, especially as we seek suggestions for contract improvements before we return to the bargaining table next year.

To enroll, visit the IAPE Events page. This class is virtual, Zoom links will be emailed to all participants on the day of the class.

The Great IAPE Pumpkin Contest!
Do you have amazing pumpkin decorating skills? Are you a whiz with a jack-o-lantern carving knife? Share your best work with other IAPE members and win a prize!

We want to display our members’ creativity for all to see. Email photos of your or your loved ones’ painted and carved pumpkins to union@iape1096.org. We’ll feature them in upcoming posts on IAPE Twitter, Instagram and Facebook feeds. Our panel of IAPE judges will determine the most impressive member submissions, and will award a $50 gift card to the best in each category: decorated or carved. Deadline for entries is Oct. 25 at 3:00 PM EDT.

Winners will be announced on Oct. 26, National Pumpkin Day!