December 23, 2016
Season's Greetings From IAPE
Holiday Pay, 2016 Pay Increases and Grievance News
Very best wishes to all IAPE-represented employees and their loved ones for a healthy and happy holiday season. The IAPE office will be closed on Monday, December 26th in observance of the Christmas holiday and Monday, January 2nd after we ring in the New Year.
Dow Jones locations also observe the holidays on these dates. As a reminder, the IAPE/DJ contract defines paid holidays as follows:
The following shall be considered holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, or the days celebrated by the United States federal government as such.
With Christmas Day and New Year's Day falling on Sundays, it is appropriate for Dow Jones to declare December 26th and January 2nd as paid holiday dates. IAPE-represented employees assigned to work on either 12/26 or 1/2 are entitled to Holiday Pay per the terms of our contract.
(IAPE-represented employees working in Canada have a slightly different holiday schedule and are also entitled to a holiday for Boxing Day. Canadian offices will be closed on Monday, December 26th and Tuesday, December 27th.)
If you work a regular weekend schedule and Sunday is normally your day to work — and if you are still assigned to work on December 25th and/or January 1st, you are not entitled to Holiday Pay. (If Sunday is your regular day off and you are assigned to work either date, you are entitled to additional compensation for working on a Scheduled Day Off.)
NEW HOLIDAY PAY PROVISION:
For IAPE-represented employees assigned to work on Monday, December 26th (or Tuesday, December 27th in Canada), our new contract provides the option to claim additional pay for that work. The IAPE/DJ agreement has long provided time-and-one-half for all regular hours worked on a holiday (double-time for extra hours) plus an additional day off in lieu of the holiday or an additional day's pay at the discretion of the Company.
Our new agreement gives IAPE-represented employees the right to choose additional pay over an additional day off for all holidays worked after September 1st in any calendar year. If you are assigned to work on December 26th and you want extra pay instead of an additional day off, please inform your manager.
2016 PAY INCREASES AND RETRO PAY
Negotiated pay increases have been calculated and processed by Dow Jones Payroll and were deposited to all eligible IAPE-represented employees yesterday. The Union has received its regular payroll and Union dues report and will begin the process of reviewing pay rates for accuracy. If you have any questions or concerns about your 2016 raise, please email union@iape1096.org.
PHYSICAL FITNESS REIMBURSEMENT GRIEVANCE
The Union has filed a grievance against Dow Jones for failing to recognize the negotiated increase to the physical fitness reimbursement cap — from $500 to $600 per year — for 2016 claims. IAPE and Dow Jones had a "first discussion" of this grievance last Monday during our regular monthly Grievance Committee meeting. The Union presented details on behalf of 115 IAPE-represented employees who have contacted IAPE to say they were limited to $500 in 2016 physical fitness claims. Dow Jones will review the Union's claims and will respond at our next meeting in January. After that meeting, we'll have a better idea whether we should expect a settlement of this grievance or prepare to proceed to arbitration.