Bargaining Update: We Deserve More

Also, MLK Day Monday – Learn how to file for Extra Pay

Contract negotiations between IAPE and Dow Jones continued yesterday with the union presenting a new proposal package and a complete listing of tentative agreements reached during 2023-24 bargaining.

Thursday’s comprehensive document from IAPE re-stated the union’s wage demands—a 10% raise for 2023 followed by 8% in both 2024 and 2025—and also included a brief explanation of why members seek such significant pay hikes, as if one was necessary.

“The recent thank you video from Executive leadership at Dow Jones reinforces the union’s position on wages,” the IAPE document reads. “Simply put, Dow Jones employees deserve wage increases reflecting recent company performance and offsetting effects of the current cost of living.”

The union package adjusted proposals for cell phone reimbursement rates and indoor air quality and withdrew a handful of proposals including a call for paid sabbatical leave after ten years of service. IAPE also recognized recent work on mergers of departments as a significant step towards improving job security, and offered agreement on seniority bands and extra severance paid to employees laid off within a band, but outside of strict seniority order.

IAPE stressed that its proposal for protections against AI—“Generative AI shall not be used to provide publishable content that could otherwise be ‘Bylined’ by a bargaining unit employee.”—is a priority for union members, and noted recent agreements by Guilds at Associated Press and MinnPost as precedents for negotiation over new technology.

Dow Jones representatives did not respond in detail to the union’s proposal package. A new company proposal is expected when bargaining resumes next Thursday, Jan. 18. Start time for next week’s bargaining session is 11:00 a.m. EST.

MLK Day Monday – Talk Extra Pay in Contract 101
Monday, Jan. 15 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, recognized in the IAPE/DJ contract as a holiday for employees working in the United States. Employees required to work on MLK Day are entitled to Holiday Pay: 1.5X your pay for regular working hours and 2X pay for extra hours. All employees are entitled to Holiday Pay, whether you are considered eligible for or exempt from overtime.

Members who work contract holidays are also entitled to an additional day off or an extra day’s pay. The company has the discretion to choose the extra day or extra pay for holidays between Jan. 1 and July 3.

On Wednesday, Jan. 17, IAPE representatives will hold a repeat session of Contract 101 discussing all forms of extra compensation available to IAPE-represented employees: Holiday Pay, Overtime, Comp Time, Standby Pay, Shift Differential, and sale of Vacation time.

We’ll explain when each of these is available and how to file for your time in Workday.

While Wednesday’s class will be conducted via Zoom, as usual, we also have the Rangers Room reserved at 1211 AOA for members on a first come, first served basis. Contract 101 begins at 2:00 p.m. EST.

To attend, please register on the IAPE Events Page.