Bargaining Update: A Short Session and Plans for Next Week

IAPE and Dow Jones representatives met Thursday for a brief negotiation session. Management responded to the union’s “Additional Issues” document from July 5, but no new proposals were exchanged.

Addressing IAPE health and safety proposals to require minimum air quality standards at all locations, Dow Jones offered explanations demonstrating the company is meeting many of the union’s demands in its largest U.S. offices: New York, Princeton, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington.

“We occupy class-A premium buildings, which practice industry standards as far as health and safety,” they said.

In response to IAPE’s proposal for non-gendered bathrooms, Dow Jones informed the union that a “bathroom refresh” is underway in New York and it identified potential bathroom solutions in Princeton and Washington. San Francisco already has gender-neutral facilities.

Despite indicating that agreeing to IAPE proposals would not cause a hardship for the company, Dow Jones representatives said they saw no reason to include such protections within the four corners of the contract.

“This is something that we have been and will continue to do,” they said. A similar answer was delivered in response to the union’s safety transfer proposal. The company also objected to including new DEI requirements in the contract.

The Dow Jones team did say it plans to respond to IAPE’s proposal to add anti-harassment language to the collective agreement. Management expects to propose contract language similar to terms which already exist in the company’s anti-harassment policy.

On artificial intelligence, Dow Jones confirmed that News management has created a task force to review the effects of AI, and identified three IAPE-represented journalists participating in the committee.

IAPE and Dow Jones agreed to discuss the union’s job classification and pay tier proposals in a separate sub-committee.

The company and the union also agreed to spend the next bargaining session, scheduled for Tuesday, July 18, discussing issues related to job security. The company’s opening proposal from June 13 called for merit to be the “first criterion” when selecting employees for layoff. The union has several proposals intended to strengthen job security.

Next Month: IAPE Town Hall Meetings
The contract between IAPE and Dow Jones has automatically extended past its June 30 expiration date and remains in effect until through August 30. To discuss this and other contract matters, the IAPE Bargaining Committee has scheduled two virtual Town Hall meetings on Monday Aug. 7.

Meeting times are 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. EDT. To attend, please register to receive your Zoom login at https://engage.iape1096.org/iape-upcoming-events.html.

Contract Trivia: Incentive Plan Changes
Congratulations to Princeton member Mel Ross, the latest winner of our 2023 trivia contest and a $50 prize. Mel’s entry was selected from several correct responses to our June 30 question about our layoffs, and job title grouped together for purposes of determining seniority protection. Mel knew that the three titles listed in the contract and considered to be the same classification at times of layoff are Reporter, Special Writer and Senior Special Writer (see Article VI - Job Security, Section F).

Mel and other faithful trivia contest participants likely noticed IAPE did not email a new trivia question last week. Officers and staff have been a little busy planning for negotiations and other union committee meetings. We have also started to review changes to incentive plans for our members working in Sales departments. Under the current contract, the company must provide employees and the union with advance notice of changes to sales plans before those changes may take effect—which brings us to this week’s question:

How many days’ notice must be given to the Union before management may finalize changes to any incentive plan?

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.