TNG Strike School!

The 2023 Strike School offered by IAPE’s parent union, The NewsGuild-CWA, was so successful, Guild leaders have expanded on the day-long class held last October and are presenting a series of workshops for 2024. 

Classes are available to all Guild members, including those of us in IAPE. The series opener, How to Build a Strike-Ready Campaign, will be held tomorrow evening at 7:00 p.m. EST, with additional classes offered every other Tuesday through April 4.

See this information flyer for more details and for links to register.

Today: Bargaining Canceled

Due to a schedule conflict, Dow Jones management has requested that today’s contract negotiations meeting with the union be rescheduled for next week. The IAPE Bargaining Committee will meet with company representatives on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 10:00 a.m. EST.

Members can still register to join next week’s bargaining session. See your email for registration links, we’ll add you to the meeting calendar.

Thanks for your continued support. Contact IAPE at union@iape1096.org to send along any contract comments, questions or concerns.

Tomorrow: Contract 101

Learn how to file and be paid for your time!

Join us Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. for a repeat presentation of Contract 101. This month’s class is devoted to an explanation of all forms of extra compensation for 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 New York 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.

Thursday: Sign up for Open Bargaining
IAPE and Dow Jones bargaining teams continue negotiations for a new contract on Thursday. All IAPE members are invited to attend as open bargaining observers. This week’s meeting is scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m. EST. See your email to register and receive a meeting link.

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.

Back to the Table Tomorrow

Sign up for Open Bargaining!

IAPE and Dow Jones contract teams return to the virtual bargaining table tomorrow. Negotiations are scheduled to resume at 10:00 a.m. EST. Tomorrow’s meeting will be conducted via Google Meet. IAPE members interested in joining as open bargaining observers can register through links provided in today’s email to receive a meeting link.

New York - IAPE in the Building!
Members at 1211 AOA, if you would like to talk about contract negotiations or any other IAPE or Dow Jones matter, today would be a perfect day to stop by the sixth-floor coffee bar and ask questions in-person.

IAPE reps Kaitlyn Frarey and Marissa Dadiw will be in the building today to talk about all things IAPE. And if you are interested in joining the IAPE Contract Action Team, they will gladly take your name!

Not in New York today—or ever? Not a problem. You can always get answers to your IAPE questions by emailing union@iape1096.org.

Bargaining Update: We Waited for That?

Also, Register for Open Bargaining

Dow Jones Changes Parental Leave

Join the IAPE CAT!

With the holidays over, Dow Jones and IAPE returned to the virtual bargaining table Thursday ready to build on all the progress made during December negotiations and, with more than 50 IAPE members joining as open bargaining observers, hammer out an agreement for a new collective bargaining agreement.

Just kidding.

What actually happened is Dow Jones offered a department list relatively unchanged from its Dec. 7 proposal. Management apparently overlooked IAPE’s Dec. 14 proposal in which IAPE accepted all the company’s department merger responses except those for Investigative, Life & Work (in Washington), Washington Bureau and BG Barron’s groups.

Dow Jones filled in some missing gaps by agreeing to union merger proposals in WSJ Web and WSJ Web Mobile departments, but continued to list 52 departments as “under discussion - awaiting union response.”

The responses we provided three weeks ago.

Look, we get it. The holidays are busy times. People are on vacation. There are other work responsibilities. The same is true for IAPE’s mostly-volunteer Bargaining Committee. And it takes a lot of work to dig through a list of Dow Jones departments and determine whether common work groups should be merged. We should know, it was our proposal. However, to all but ignore the union’s department responses—not to mention failing to provide any meaningful counters on other job security proposals or artificial intelligence—is disappointing.

We told the company on Thursday, we recognize we have reached many tentative agreements in this process so far. Still, a significant amount of work remains to reach a deal on big-ticket items like wages and health care premiums. If we can’t be certain the company is going to seriously consider union proposals on subjects where we are close to an agreement, what should we expect for topics where great distances between IAPE and Dow Jones remain?

We’ll find out soon enough. Bargaining resumes Thursday, Jan. 11. All members are welcome to join open bargaining as observers. See your email for registration links..

Company Announces Parental Leave Changes
Dow Jones representatives opened bargaining on Thursday with an apology of sorts, explaining that a Jan. 3 notice in The Lede announcing changes to the company’s Parental Leave Policy was delivered without the knowledge of the company’s Legal department.

“We would have given you a heads up,” management said.

ICYMI, the item read, “We’re excited to announce a significant enhancement to our Paid Parental Leave policy, effective Jan. 1, 2024. Starting in the new year, Dow Jones is eliminating the distinction between primary and secondary caregivers. This change ensures that all benefit-eligible Dow Jones employees, regardless of caregiver status, will now be entitled to 20 weeks of paid parental leave."

This, of course, is a change IAPE proposed at the outset of this round of contract negotiations—one the company appeared to accept, but with a requirement for the union to waive bargaining rights over future changes to this and other benefits, including health care, other leaves of absence and severance pay.

The union welcomes the company’s decision to finally eliminate the distinction between primary and secondary caregivers, and will continue to insist on the ability to negotiate improvements to Dow Jones benefits and policies affecting union-represented employees.

Join the IAPE CAT!
IAPE will be ramping up collective actions in 2024 similar to the Almar Candy Gram campaign at the end of 2023. If you'd like to assist in planning and coordinating those efforts, email us at union@iape1096.org to join the Contract Action Team (CAT). Questions about negotiations are welcome at the same address.

The New York Times Guild built a similar CAT to help facilitate actions during their lengthy negotiations for a new contract. The CAT was a driving force in getting members motivated and involved in bargaining and was ultimately influential in members’ walkout and eventual deal. 

The next IAPE CAT meeting, via Zoom, is Tuesday, Jan. 9 at 1:00 p.m. EST.

Kickoff 2024 with IAPE Open Bargaining

Join us this Thursday, Jan. 4 at 10:00 a.m. EST for the first IAPE Open Bargaining session of 2024. With your support, we will continue to fight for a fair and equitable contract. 

See your email for registration links. You will receive the meeting link on Thursday morning. 

For an overview of IAPE and Dow Jones proposal documents, visit the Bargaining 2023 section of our website. 

This Holiday Season, Support Pittsburgh Guild Members

Our union siblings at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette have been on strike since October 18th, 2022. 

Despite a lack of income and loss of their healthcare coverage, these Guild members have remained committed to their efforts and each other. They’ve even started their own publication, The Pittsburgh Union Progress (subscribe here), which not only provides updates on their strike and efforts of other labor unions but also produces its own local news stories. 

Strikers have brought Scabby to a wedding, purchased flyovers at football games, and have held many, many fundraisers including this recent holiday bake sale.

One of the efforts that IAPE has been proud to support is the Adopt-a-Striker program, where our union makes weekly payments to help offset the day-to-day costs of one of the strikers. We’ve been participating in this program since February 2023, and, at this Tuesday’s IAPE Board of Directors meeting, our Board voted to continue sponsoring our striker until a deal is reached or a reassessment can be made in 6 months. 

In the spirit of the holiday season, help us spread some more cheer Pittsburgh’s way by donating to their strike fund and participating in the Pittsburgh Strike Santa program.

In Solidarity!

Open Bargaining Sign-Up and Collective Actions

Tomorrow: Join us for Open Bargaining!

IAPE and Dow Jones reps return to the virtual contract table tomorrow, Dec. 21 at 10:30 a.m. EST. All members interested in observing negotiations—and displaying support for the IAPE bargaining committee—can sign up to attend open bargaining. Register here, and we’ll add you to the meeting invitation!

Almar’s Candy Grams Delivered!

Today a group of IAPE members in the NY office delivered 296 candy gram messages we’ve collected for Dow Jones CEO, Almar Latour, over the past two weeks. Check out our posts on X (Formerly known as Twitter), Instagram and Facebook and make sure to share them!

When they approached Almar’s office, our members were met by Tom Maher, a familiar face from the bargaining table and part of the Dow Jones Legal team. Tom told our members that they couldn’t be there and asked them to leave. Our members stood strong and told him that they just wanted to make sure Almar got this gift from IAPE members. Our efforts definitely struck a nerve! 

Our campaign received messages from IAPE members, family members, friends, union siblings at the CWA and TNG, and even a self-proclaimed WSJ subscriber. Great work folks! 

This was an excellent action to build up our public support and send a message directly to Almar. As we continue to stand our ground on key issues like wages and healthcare premiums, we’re looking forward to escalating collective actions in the offices and public spaces going into the new year. 

Join the Contract Action Team and help create and coordinate these future actions. In Solidarity!

Bargaining Update: Dow Jones Needs Clarity

Make sure Almar gets your message!

Negotiations between IAPE and Dow Jones continued this morning—in front of dozens of IAPE observers—and the union presented its latest proposal on job security and artificial intelligence. Despite the importance of these topics, and news from the company that they accepted IAPE’s last proposal on health care, preserving a 20% coinsurance rate for POS II plan participants, it was management’s responses during a discussion about pay that raised many IAPE eyebrows.

“I’m getting a little bit of, not complete clarity on the message here,” Tom Maher said, speaking on behalf of the company. “You made clear that 3% isn’t going to do it, but you didn’t make clear that anything less than 10% would be acceptable.”

Maher was referring, of course, to IAPE’s current proposal to increase wages, in a new contract, by 10% in 2023, 8% in 2024, and 8% in 2025—proposals the union has repeatedly claimed a company enjoying quarter after quarter of record profits should be able to accommodate.

What could be clearer than that?

“We could tell you at the table,” IAPE rep Tim Martell responded, “but we’re reaching the place where our members are going to have to demonstrate in the offices.”

“We don’t want this to be long and rancorous, but it may need to be.”

IAPE members can begin demonstrating to Dow Jones management that the company needs to negotiate toward the union’s wage demands by sending a holiday message to CEO Almar Latour. FELLOW IAPE MEMBER, THIS MEANS YOU! Thus far, Latour has received his bargaining updates through the filter of his bargaining team. Let’s make sure he hears directly from those calling for the pay increases they deserve. Sign your card today!

Back at the bargaining table, management again claimed it has shown “flexibility” in negotiating toward a wage agreement, while accusing IAPE of not showing the same consideration. Meanwhile, Dow Jones wage proposals have remained at 3% since they were first offered in August, almost two months after negotiations began.

Four months later, Dow Jones continues to offer 3% pay increases in each contract year, with a 0.25% lump sum payment to offset health care premium increases. Those premiums, as proposed by the company, could result in up to 30% increases for those with dependents. An “offset” of a tiny, non-compounding, one-time lump sum, doesn't add up for us.

In addition to the holiday message campaign, the IAPE Contract Action Team is planning other events and activities for member participation and escalation. To join this team, please email us at cat@iape1096.org. The more participation we have, the more we can do and the more seriously the company will take the collective voice of our members.

We hope a contract settlement materializes before needing to escalate to a consideration of withholding our labor, but to reach agreement we need to have a willing partner.

Dow Jones did not seem to be that partner today.

Negotiations continue next Thursday morning. See your email for a registration link to join as an open bargaining observer.