Bargaining Update: A Few Issues and Small Steps

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IAPE and Dow Jones bargaining teams met yesterday to discuss a small number of contract issues. The union presented its fourth proposal document.

IAPE and Dow Jones reached two new tentative agreements:

  • The company will be permitted to exclude Interns from the bargaining unit for a cumulative period of 15 months.

  • Retraining allowances—paid to employees as part of post-separation benefits packages when positions are eliminated as a result of layoff—will be increased by $1,000 for each eligibility level, depending on tenure and reason for layoff, and will now range from $4,000 to $13,000.

IAPE requested new information and presented new proposals on a number of subjects previously under discussion:

  • Advance notice of investigatory, disciplinary and discharge meetings: in an attempt to determine how often IAPE representatives might be summoned to such meetings, if the union and the company can agree to a company requirement to notify the union whenever these occur, IAPE requested data about the total number of meetings held with or without union representation dating back to 2018. Dow Jones representatives said that information does not exist within company records.

  • Experience credit: IAPE countered a company proposal to align experience credit with salary for newly hired employees, with a proposal to require the same for all employees holding a classified title. The union offered this example: if a News Assistant is promoted to Reporter and paid a salary between the B and C scales for the Reporter pay tier, that employee should be placed at the B scale and be eligible for a pay increase to the C scale during the following year. Currently, that employee could be considered to have A scale experience regardless of their salary.

  • Extraordinary hours worked by overtime-exempt employees: the union modified a proposal previously rejected by the company in an attempt to secure compensation for overtime-exempt employees, like Reporters or Software Engineers, when they are required to work a significant number of extra hours during the regular workweek. IAPE proposed payment of comp time beginning after the third hour of work beyond the end of a regular workday.

  • Status of former contractors converted to Dow Jones employees: IAPE modified another proposal previously rejected by the company to recognize periods of time spent by contractors, or CWRs, before they were hired by Dow Jones and converted to staff. Recognizing that temporary employees will have worked for 12 months prior to being retained by the company, IAPE has proposed recognizing those 12 months by eliminating the probation period for those workers and making them immediately protected against disciplinary action by the contract’s just cause provisions.

The union also withdrew a proposal to cap mandatory overtime and a proposal to provide a meal allowance when employees work more than two hours beyond a regular workday in a Dow Jones office or at a location away from home.

Dow Jones representatives did not immediately respond to the union’s proposal document, but said they expect to address these issues when the parties resume negotiations next Tuesday, Aug. 8. Dow Jones is also expected to deliver its first proposals on employee benefits during that meeting.

Tried Filing For Comp Time Lately? Had Problems?
Since we’re thinking about comp time, this seems like a good time to mention IAPE members have noticed an inability to file comp time hours in Workday. The union has brought this problem to the attention of management. An initial response from HRIS staff suggests that the problem might be due to a bi-weekly blackout on Workday filings at the close of each payroll period—time sheets are locked for payroll processing every alternate Tuesday through Thursday, but are available again on Friday—but an investigation continues to see whether this might be a pay system problem.

Today is Friday, so if you’ve had difficulty logging your comp time hours lately, this might be a good time to try again. If you are still unable to file your time in Workday, please let us know.

Town Halls and Location Meetings
Please join your fellow members and hear directly from IAPE Bargaining Committee members at one of our Town Hall meetings on Monday.

Two sessions are scheduled for Aug. 7, at 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. EDT. To attend, register at the IAPE Events Page.

Members in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Detroit, watch your inboxes for invitations to separate location meetings soon.

As always, if you have questions or comments about bargaining, please reach out to us at union@iape1096.org.

Maybe You Should Run!
Not only is this year a contract bargaining year, but it is also a union election year. The window for nominations to run for a spot on the IAPE Board of Directors is currently open. Details about the election process and nomination form can be found on the IAPE website.

At this moment, the following nominations have been verified and accepted:

  • Jodi Green - President

  • Austen Hufford - Treasurer

  • Tim Merle - Secretary

  • Vipal Monga - Location Director–Canada

  • Ariana Vera - Location Director–Mid-Atlantic

  • Patricia Corley - Location Director–Mid-Atlantic

  • Laura Casey - Location Director–Northeast

  • Ted Mann - Location Director–Southeast

  • Jess Bravin - Location Director–Southeast

  • Stephanie Armour - Classification Director–News

  • Tim Martell - CWA At-Large Delegate

A list of all nominees is available on the IAPE website. Additional nominees will be posted upon verification and acceptance of their nomination.