Bargaining Update: Deja Moo

We’ve Heard This Bull Before

Dow Jones management presented a fifth proposal document to the IAPE bargaining committee during negotiations held in Princeton on Tuesday. The company document contained a small number of updated proposals and—again—a rejection of 42 union proposals covering compensation, benefits, job security and “miscellaneous items,” including the use of artificial intelligence in company products.

Management’s wage increase offer, three percent in 2023 with raises for 2024 and 2025 to be discussed, remained unchanged.

Two tentative agreements were reached yesterday: Dow Jones accepted an IAPE proposal to require notification of a nine-month probation period for new employees in all offer letters, and the company agreed to add “gender identity and expression” as a protected characteristic within new anti-harassment language negotiated between the parties.

Dow Jones presented six changes to previous proposals: minimum scales, shift differential pay, stand-by pay, structure of seniority groups, notice of meetings and union membership for remote workers. See an IAPE explanation of those proposal changes here.

Dow Jones also withdrew a proposal to reduce the consideration period for employees eligible to volunteer for layoffs to seven days, as well as a proposal to remove any requirement to periodically provide the union with department head listings. Management said both proposals were withdrawn “to narrow the issues between” IAPE and Dow Jones.

When withdrawing the department head proposal, Dow Jones representatives suggested that IAPE “look at doing the same.” However, the union’s current proposal with regard to departments is to change how a “department” is defined in the collective agreement, to allow for greater seniority protection for employees.

Earlier in the day, IAPE delivered two requests seeking information about the makeup of company “task forces” investigating AI issues, and information about company health care costs for calendar years 2019-22, and projections for 2023-26.

On Thursday, IAPE and Dow Jones will discuss union proposals related to job classifications. Negotiations over all other issues will resume on Tuesday, Aug. 29.

Bargaining Town Halls
Keep an eye out today for two meeting invites for our next set of Town Halls on Sept. 11 at 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. EDT. Zoom capacity will be restricted to the first 300 attendees for each meeting.