Bargaining Update: 0.25%? Seriously?

More than two dozen IAPE members joined the union bargaining committee for a contract negotiation session yesterday and heard Dow Jones representatives present their tenth proposal for a new collective agreement.

The highlight: a 0.25% lump sum payment for IAPE-represented employees effective January 1, 2024.

Seriously.

Despite employees suffering through multiple years of record inflation, while also contributing to company performance resulting in the “highest profitability” for Dow Jones since its acquisition by News Corp, management has opted to keep its wage proposal unchanged at 3% per year.

The addition of the lump sum payment, management said, is intended to partially offset increases in health insurance premiums it has proposed increasing in 2024, 2025 and 2026.

Dow Jones has pledged to keep premiums flat for employee-only coverage throughout the next contract. For employees with dependents, Dow Jones proposes increasing premiums by amounts equaling between 0.25% of salary and 0.5% of salary each year of the next contract.

By the end of the next contract, under company proposals, employees with dependents could be paying as much as 28.83% more for Aetna POS II coverage, 28.03% more for Aetna CDHP coverage, 25.56% more for Aetna Basic Choice coverage, and 32.94% more for Kaiser Permanente coverage.

Even in Canada, Dow Jones has proposed increasing 2024 premiums for employees by 5% or 7%, depending on coverage levels.

In complete fairness, there were some small, encouraging movements in yesterday’s company proposal. Management has increased its proposed threshold to set minimum increase levels—the weekly salary at which minimum-dollar pay raises are calculated—and vacation sell-back eligibility at $1,400 per week.

Dow Jones also appears willing to back away from its demand to eliminate COLA protections in the contract, but only if the union withdraws proposals to improve upon those protections.

However, those proposals were overshadowed by the company’s wage offer and other unsatisfactory proposals—including another rejection of an IAPE proposal to pay comp time for overtime-exempt employees who work extraordinary amounts of time during the regular workweek.

The IAPE bargaining team will review the company’s latest document and prepare an appropriate response. Bargaining resumes on Tuesday.

Open Bargaining October!
IAPE negotiators were thrilled to have so many members join and observe yesterday’s meeting! If you would like to attend future bargaining sessions, please email union@iape1096.org.