IAPE Board Votes “No” on Organizing

By a count of 10 to 6, with one abstention, the IAPE Board of Directors has voted to reject a resolution to organize workers outside of Dow Jones.

The proposal first presented during the Sept. 21 meeting of the union’s governing board was tabled during that discussion, with an agreement to revisit the resolution during the next regular Board meeting.

As the resolution was being debated, proponents cited recent layoffs at Dow Jones and a declining membership as reasons to expand IAPE representation. Directors opposed to the proposal expressed concerns about representing workers who may have more interest in promoting political or social causes than current union-represented journalists.

With its vote, the IAPE Board preserved the union’s status as the only large Local within The NewsGuild—and one of very few overall—to represent workers at only one employer, and under a single contract.