Contract Trivia: Layoffs (Again)

Congratulations to New York member Natalia Barr, the latest winner of our 2023 trivia contest and a $50 prize. Natalia’s entry was selected from several correct responses to last week’s question about our contract’s Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) provision. Natalia knew that the maximum “extra” COLA increase allowable when inflation exceeds negotiated pay raises is 0.75%, with all numbers rounded to two decimal places (see Article IV - Compensatory Increase, Section D).

That’s definitely a contract benefit we want to improve upon this year.

Also a priority for IAPE is improving upon the contract’s job security provisions, especially in light of the ten new layoff notices Dow Jones delivered to the union during the past week. These latest cuts bring the total number of IAPE-represented positions lost through layoff in 2023 to 52.

Current IAPE contract proposals call for changes in how seniority protection is defined. Currently, seniority is determined according to an employee’s hire date, relative to others in an affected job classification, in a department and at a location. A “job classification” generally means a single job title, but not always.

During layoffs at Dow Jones, which three job titles are considered to be the same classification?

Email your response to union@iape1096.org. If you are not certain of the answer, scroll through our contract posted on the IAPE website to find the relevant section. Members in good standing* will have until Thursday at midnight  to find the answer within the current collective agreement between IAPE and Dow Jones, and email that answer back to us. Next Friday, one winner will be selected at random from all the correct responses, and that winning member will receive a $50 prize from IAPE.

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*The IAPE contract trivia question is a weekly contest for members of the IAPE/DJ bargaining unit in the United States and Canada, working under the terms of the collective agreement between Dow Jones & Company Inc. and the Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees (IAPE) TNG/CWA Local 1096, AFL-CIO,CLC, in effect from July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023. IAPE officers, IAPE directors, IAPE staff, fee-paying non-members and non-members in right-to-work states (or new employees not yet paying dues to IAPE) are not eligible for prizes. Contest period lasts through 11:59 PM Eastern Time each Thursday. On Friday, one winner will be selected from the previous week’s correct answers by a random drawing. Winners are limited to one prize every thirty days.