New York area members, you are cordially invited to a social hosted by the three New York locals of The NewsGuild: News Media Guild, the NewsGuild of New York, and IAPE!
Join us Friday, Jun. 25 at 5:00 p.m. We’ll be in Prospect Park Long Meadow, just east of the Picnic House (don’t worry, you’ll find us — TNG reps will be onsite to greet you).
All members are welcome — and feel free to bring guests!
Please RSVP: bit.ly/35LUgSE
Dow Jones announced a new policy Friday for WSJ news personnel in which the company claimed new and potentially expansive rights over employees’ efforts to write books or pursue other external projects. We have several concerns about the policy, which appears to depart from industry standards, and believe the company cannot lawfully impose it on its own.
We will have more to say later, but for now, know this: We intend to fight this attempt to unilaterally change the terms of our employment. IAPE sent a letter to DJ representatives this afternoon seeking more information and requesting negotiations.
IAPE was first notified in late March that DJ intended to seek revisions and expansions of its policies on external projects. In April, the union raised a series of questions about a draft document presented by the company, and met with company officials on April 22. In May, DJ presented IAPE with a further revised proposed policy that did not address questions previously raised by the union. The revisions also appeared to be an attempt to further expand rights provided to management.
IAPE expected to have further discussions with management over the policy. Instead, the company announced it Friday, without notifying the union first. Past policies of this nature were subject to bargaining, and we believe this one is, too.
Dow Jones also has been working on additional policies related to newsroom employees’ involvement with podcasts and newsletters. IAPE believes it has the right to negotiate over those policies as well.
We have received a steady stream of feedback today from concerned members, some of it quite angry, over the company’s proposed new approach. Thanks to those of you who have reached out. If you would like to be involved in our efforts to address this issue, please let us know. Continue to share your thoughts by emailing us at union@iape1096.org or calling the office at (609) 275-6020.
When you were hired by Dow Jones, were you surprised to learn that you were a union-represented employee? Have you ever wondered about your rights as a union member? If you have a half-hour to spare tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. EDT, please join us for the next installment of IAPE 101 and see if we can answer your questions.
IAPE 101 is a Zoom presentation addressing the basics of IAPE membership: What is a union? How does IAPE function? How does IAPE fit into Dow Jones? What are the benefits of union membership? All these questions and more will be covered in this class, perfect for those brand new to IAPE, or even for veteran members interested in learning more about their union. All members are welcome; register today on the IAPE Events page.
Steward 101, June 30
Interested in becoming an IAPE steward to advocate for your fellow members? While you’re browsing the IAPE Events page, please feel free to register for our next Steward 101 session scheduled for June 30. In this class, we’ll cover the role and rights of a steward as well as the best practices to properly represent and empower your fellow members
CWA Celebrates Juneteenth
Save the Date! Our parent union, the Communications Workers of America, is organizing a Facebook live event to celebrate Juneteenth on Saturday, June 19 at 1:30 p.m. EDT. CWA leaders will highlight the fight against racism and address issues like pay equity and greater staff diversity. Speakers will include CWA activists, artists, and special guests. All IAPE members are welcome!
Catch Up On Guild News
A great way to stay connected to CWA, and especially unions within our sector, The NewsGuild, is a subscription to TNG’s newsletter. Every two weeks, TNG provides updates on what’s happening across our union — from New York, Toronto, San Juan, Honolulu and everywhere in between. Check out TNG’s latest update, and be sure to get Guild news delivered to your inbox!
As we contemplate work life after the pandemic, IAPE members across Dow Jones locations have made clear they want their voices heard as the company implements plans to return to the office. This week we again insisted to the company that it must include the union in discussions about these vital issues.
In a letter to company officials, IAPE president Jodi Green wrote, “IAPE reiterates its position that it has a legal right to negotiate over the establishment or modifications of workplace policies and must be a part of the decision-making process for these issues, which stand to have a substantial impact on the IAPE-represented workforce,” and asked Dow Jones to inform IAPE when its representatives will be available to negotiate with the union.
Earlier this year, IAPE filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging the company had failed to negotiate with the union over pandemic benefits. That Unfair Labor Practice complaint is under investigation by the NLRB.
IAPE and Dow Jones have held no formal negotiations over the impact of the pandemic since the union filed its Labor Board charge. However, union representatives have continued to raise employee concerns during regular, monthly meetings of the Labor/Management joint committee. During the most-recent meeting of that committee, held Thursday morning, IAPE representatives asked whether Dow Jones had any plans to proceed with Phase 2 as scheduled on Sept. 7, or if that date might be moved forward. Company officials said they had no information to suggest the Sept. 7 voluntary return date would be adjusted.
IAPE also informed the company that many members have asked to have the ability to return to their desks sooner. Dow Jones representatives said they would “pass along” the union’s information.
Annual Incentive Plan Review
During Thursday’s Labor/Management meeting, Dow Jones informed IAPE that sales incentive plans for the 2022 fiscal year will soon be ready for review by the union. Under the terms of the collective agreement between IAPE and Dow Jones, “forty-five (45) days’ notice must be given to the Union concerning a change, modification or termination of an incentive plan.” The company must also provide a written explanation “for any design changes to an incentive plan year over year.”
The union was advised that we can expect to see plans from Media Sales first, with PIB plan documents to follow. IAPE will forward draft plans to all affected employees for review and feedback. As we note on our Sales Explainer page, if you have any issues regarding your sales incentive plan, please reach out to the union.
Working On The Holiday?
Monday is Memorial Day, and for IAPE-represented employees working in the United States, a holiday recognized by the IAPE/DJ contract. We hope you are able to enjoy a safe and happy long weekend with family and friends. However, if you are required to work on Monday, you are entitled to Holiday Pay: time and one-half for any regularly scheduled hours, and double-time for any hours in excess of your regular day (plus another day off, or an additional day's pay -- at the discretion of the Company).
Similarly, Monday, May 24th was Victoria Day, a holiday for our members in Canada. IAPE-represented employees in Canadian locations who were required to work on Monday are entitled to the same Holiday Pay benefits described above.
Holiday Pay must be claimed via the Company’s Workday system; if you encounter any difficulty in filing for additional compensation via Workday, please let us know and we’ll help you get paid for the time you worked.
As Dow Jones departments and managers move ahead with year-end performance conversations, IAPE members are reaching out to the union office for guidance. Colleagues across departments have raised an array of questions with IAPE.
Members in News have been surprised to learn the new system asks for a self-rating, a feature that has long been present for non-News personnel. And members in all departments have raised eyebrows at requests for feedback about the performance of colleagues.
We’re reaching out today with this reminder: all IAPE-represented employees may decline self-assessments, self-ratings, and department feedback requests. Dow Jones has confirmed for IAPE that, “Employee self-reflection remains optional but strongly encouraged,” and that self-ratings are also optional.
As we have said before, if you want to rate yourself or offer comments about your achievements over the past year, feel free. Nobody will do a better job of singing your own praises than you. But beware: any critical notes you provide may be held against you in your manager’s final assessment of your performance.
If you have any questions or concerns about performance discussions with your manager, please let us know, or contact your local IAPE representative.
IAPE’s Contract 101 series resumes on Wednesday afternoon with a fresh look at compensation and pay increases. The IAPE/DJ collective agreement requires negotiated raises which take effect on July 1 -- but do you know whether you’re entitled to our compensatory raise or a scale increase? Or maybe our minimum-dollar wage hike?
Join us via Zoom on May 19 at 2:00 p.m. EDT to learn more. Register on the IAPE Events page to receive your meeting invitation. We’ll also take a look at the new Dow Jones performance evaluation process and we’ll talk about Holiday Pay, members who might be eligible to exchange vacation time for pay, and other forms of compensation like Shift Differential and Stand-By Pay.
Consider A Pay Review!
As you consider our July 1 mandatory pay increases, you may be wondering whether it’s too late to initiate a merit pay conversation with your manager. Remember: nothing in the IAPE/DJ contract restricts management from providing discretionary pay raises at any time during the year.
If you’re thinking of talking to your boss about an additional raise, consider an IAPE pay review to help prepare for those discussions. An IAPE review is a great way to see how you compare to peers with the same title, working in the same department, location and even age range. Email payreview@iape1096.org for assistance.
Solidarity: It’s For The Birds
National Audubon Society workers have banded together to form Audubon for All, a union working to improve the working conditions for the frontline staff working to protect birds and the places they need. Like IAPE, Audubon for All will be affiliated with the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
Workers have asked Audubon management to voluntarily recognize the union so they can get to the bargaining table and start working together to build a better organization. Unfortunately, Audubon has instead hired a union-busting firm and is continuing to stall this process.
Audubon for All is reaching out to fellow CWA members and encouraging supporters to add their names to a petition asking management to recognize their union. Click here to sign: CWA.org/Audubon.
When you were hired by Dow Jones, were you surprised to learn that you were a union-represented employee? Have you ever wondered about your rights as a union member? If you have a half-hour to spare tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. EDT, please join us for the next installment of IAPE 101 and see if we can answer your questions.
IAPE 101 is a Zoom presentation addressing the basics of IAPE membership: What is a union? How does IAPE function? How does IAPE fit into Dow Jones? What are the benefits of union membership? All these questions and more will be covered in this class, perfect for those brand new to IAPE, or even for veteran members interested in learning more about their union. All members are welcome; register today on the IAPE Events page.
Contract 101: Compensation and Evaluations
While you’re checking out the IAPE Events page, please feel free to register for our next Contract 101 session scheduled for May 19. In this class, we’ll cover the different types of pay increases IAPE-represented employees will receive on July 1, and we’ll talk a little about the company’s new performance evaluation system, Glint. Please join us for some Q&A about your pay!
NewsGuild Focus on Pay Equity
Pay is also an important topic at other unions under the umbrella of The NewsGuild, and this week Guild unions have released a startling report highlighting pay disparities for women and journalists of color at 14 Gannett newsrooms. You can read more about that pay study here, and stay tuned to all news from our parent union by subscribing to The NewsGuild newsletter.
CWA Scholarship Deadline This Week!
One more piece of news from our parent unions: IAPE members interested in applying for the CWA Joe Beirne Scholarship must submit an online application before Friday, Apr. 30 at 11:59 p.m. EDT.
Sixteen partial college scholarships of $4,000 each are being offered for the 2021-22 academic year. IAPE members, their spouses, children and grandchildren may apply. Applicants must be high school graduates or at least high school students who will graduate this year. Undergrads and grad students returning to schooling are also eligible, but prior winners are not.
When entering, please select “District 1” as your member district, and enter “1096” as your member local. And good luck!
Last Thursday, Dow Jones emailed IAPE-represented employees to alert them of an update in how comp time entries are processed in Workday. Before last week, employees had to manually calculate their comp time before entering it in Workday. Now, they don't have to.
Today, we’ll explain why you received that message, what it means for those who file for comp time, and why this means nothing at all for overtime-eligible employees.
The Agreement
During 2019 contract negotiations, IAPE and Dow Jones reached agreement on a new process for filing for, and cashing out, comp time. The amended contract provision was intended to clarify when employees may receive comp time, simplify the filing process, and make requests to exchange comp time for cash automatic 30 days after comp time is earned, or sooner with the approval of a manager.
IAPE believed Dow Jones was slow to implement necessary changes to the time entry system and filed a grievance over the matter. Dow Jones claimed that delays had been caused by “technology department issues.” During an IAPE/DJ Grievance Committee meeting on Feb. 25, the company informed the union that the automatic calculation of comp time would be added to Workday.
What’s New
Prior to Apr. 16, when overtime-exempt employees earned comp time, they needed to multiply their hours worked by 1.5 in order to receive accurate compensation for work performed on scheduled days off (SDO). So, if a reporter’s SDO is Saturday and she was required to work seven hours on that day, she needed to enter 10.5 comp time hours (7 x 1.5 = 10.5) in Workday. Now, the system will automatically calculate time and record up to a maximum of 12 comp time hours for SDO work.
If you believe any of your 2020-21 comp time filings have not been recorded accurately, please contact IAPE.
Comp Time Cash-out: Still a Work in Progress
IAPE-represented employees have the right to cash out comp time, but it has been cumbersome to do so. Dow Jones, as part of the 2019 contractual agreement, should have automated this process in Workday, and has pledged to complete this task by October in conjunction with a migration of other New Corp properties to the Workday system. Once done, the grievance filed by the union will be resolved.
Why This Doesn’t Matter for Overtime Eligible Employees
Article II of the IAPE/DJ contract explains that overtime-exempt employees are entitled to comp time for SDO work. For those who are eligible for overtime, all work authorized or reasonably required and performed outside of regular working hours requires overtime pay. Comp time is only permitted for overtime-exempt employees.
Occasionally, an overtime-eligible IAPE member will ask a union rep whether a manager’s offer of a comp day in exchange for a weekend assignment is permissible. Our guidance is always the same: you’re entitled to overtime pay for that work, and the company agrees with the union on this point.
Sometimes, contract references to other forms of paid time off will be confused with comp time. For example, Article VIII of the IAPE/DJ agreement explains how employees are compensated for work performed on holidays: time-and-one-half for work performed during regular hours, double-time for extra hours, and a day in lieu of the holiday to be used at a later date (or an extra days pay, at a manager’s discretion for holidays from Jan. 1 through Jul. 3, and upon request from an employee for holidays after Jul. 3).
These days in lieu of holidays are not the same as the comp time described in Article II, and may be earned by all IAPE-represented employees, no matter your overtime eligibility status.
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We hope this better explains last week’s comp time email from Dow Jones. If you ever have questions about this or any other contract provision, please contact IAPE: union@iape1096.org.
Tomorrow: Steward 101
Interested in learning more about being a workplace contact or representative for your union? Join your IAPE colleagues tomorrow, Apr. 7, at 1:00 p.m. EDT for this Zoom introduction to becoming an IAPE steward.
Perfect for members who have already taken our IAPE 101 class, this half-hour session focuses on your rights as a union steward and opportunities to become an IAPE resource for your fellow members. To register, please visit the IAPE Events page.
Compensation Questions?
Are you thinking of approaching your boss to have a conversation about your pay? Ever wonder how your salary compares to peers in your department? The IAPE pay review might be a helpful tool for you. Using information available to the union, your IAPE reviewer may be able to provide you with a closer look at your rate of pay relative to fellow members in the same title, department, location, hire date range and even age range.
Request your own salary analysis by emailing payreview@iape1096.org.
Strike Prep At Condé Nast
In case you missed the news, our friends at The NewsGuild of New York have voted—with 98 percent support—to approve a strike at The New Yorker, Pitchfork and Ars Technica if negotiations with management of their publications and their parent company, Condé Nast, break down further. The vote came on March 26 after years of contentious negotiations for first contracts at each outlet.
Contract talks are centered on fair pay, a safe and inclusive work environment, and ending practices that exploit workers and undermine their work-life balance.
You can support the workers by signing a pledge to support them and by following them on Twitter. And you can stay in touch with our parent union—The NewsGuild-CWA—by subscribing to the TNG newsletter.
66% of IAPE members responding to union surveys would prefer Covid-19 vaccinations to be required for any Dow Jones employee to work in-office, and 71% of members say they do not plan on volunteering to return to a Dow Jones office during the company’s “Phase 2” reopening stage.
Two IAPE surveys, conducted prior to the announcement this week from Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour, that offices in the Americas are scheduled to proceed to Phase 2 on Sept. 7, received responses from approximately 20% of all IAPE-represented employees. Not surprisingly, members in News comprised the largest single component of survey participants, with 49% of replies to survey questions about desk packing and voluntary return plans, and 41% of respondents to questions about requirements for vaccinations, masks and Covid testing.
For complete survey results according to Dow Jones division -- News, Sales, Technology and “Other” -- see the IAPE website at iape1096.org/surveyresults.
Union To Proceed To Arbitration
IAPE has informed Dow Jones that it intends to file for arbitration over a union grievance concerning advance notice of disciplinary and investigatory meetings.
The grievance was first filed in July of last year after a group of employees were summoned to meetings as part of a company investigation. None of the employees were targets of the investigation.
In 2019, the union and the company agreed to new contract language which states, “An Employee shall be informed no less than three (3) hours in advance of any disciplinary or investigative meetings to which the Employee is called to attend. Notice to the Employee will clearly identify the subject matter of the meeting as either disciplinary or investigatory and will include a written statement that the Employee has the right to request from the Union that a Union representative may be present for the meeting.” The July meeting invitations informed employees they should not discuss the subject matter of the meeting with anyone.
Dow Jones has since taken the position that this contractual notice requirement should only apply when an employee summoned to a meeting is the subject of its investigation. This conflicts with IAPE representatives’ recollection of negotiations leading to the 2019 agreement.
The union informed company representatives of its decision yesterday during the regular, monthly meetings of IAPE and Dow Jones Classification, Labor/Management and Grievance Committees. An arbitration hearing for this grievance will likely be scheduled later this year.
New York: Paid Leave For Vaccinations
IAPE members working in New York, in case you missed the news, New York State adopted legislation on Mar. 12 providing paid time off to receive Covid-19 vaccinations.
“Under this new law, employees will be granted up to four hours of excused leave per injection that will not be charged against any other leave the employee has earned or accrued,” reads the notice from the State.
IAPE has asked Dow Jones whether it plans on extending this benefit to employees outside of New York. Thus far, the company has not provided a formal response, though IAPE has been informed that “any employee who is able to schedule their vaccinations will be granted time,” whether that time is considered work/life balance leave, sick time, or some other form of available time off.
Equal Pay Day
On Wednesday, IAPE and other Locals of The NewsGuild-CWA participated in Equal Pay Day. Unions tweeted messages to call attention to the issue of pay equity and pay gaps across lines of gender and ethnicities.
As long-time IAPE members know well, pay gaps are as much an issue at Dow Jones as at many other companies across the United States and Canada. Your union has developed a process to assist members determine whether they are underpaid relative to their peers, and to better inform and prepare those who are discussing discretionary pay increases with their managers.
The IAPE pay review can provide you with helpful salary data. To request your individual review, email payreview@iape1096.org.
Have a question? Need a rep? Contact us.
