Town Hall Meeting? Change Your Profile Pic!

IAPE members—especially those of you in News who have been summoned to a Town Hall meeting on Wednesday—we have a request:

Change your Gmail and Zoom profile pictures.

As we continue to push for fair Return To Office agreements, members have asked how they can demonstrate their opposition to the company’s inflexibility over the proposed number of days in office for certain business units. We’re asking you to take part in this simple action: choose from one of our sample profile pics for Gmail or Zoom, and turn your camera off when attending your next virtual department meeting. You and your colleagues can send a clear message to management (unless, of course, they opt to hold a tileless Zoom meeting).

We don’t mean to suggest that our message—your message—has not been clear enough: Dow Jones employees demand flexibility, and working from home works well, as recent company financial results demonstrate. The world is different now, and you've asked for flexibility to address changes in everything from childcare to public transit.

Also this: the company has an obligation to negotiate in good faith with the union over RTO matters, as we have reminded Dow Jones by twice filing unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board since the beginning of 2021.

To our friends in News: no, we have not reached an agreement with Dow Jones over newsroom return to office plans. We expect Wednesday’s meeting to be an announcement of the company’s latest proposal shared with the union, which differs slightly from what we reported last week. Instead of a requirement to spend three days per week in a WSJ office starting in June, the company is now proposing two days per week starting in July and three days per week in August. We also expect management to complain about the union sharing “inaccurate” information.

On the contrary: we are committed to sharing important information with you, our members—and encouraging you to continue expressing your thoughts and opinions to your managers. Your voice matters.

So, keep up the good work. And seriously, change your profile pic.