September 16, 2007
IAPE FEEDBACK
As noted elsewhere on this website, the IAPE Board of Directors has recommended that the membership ratify the latest contract proposal from Dow Jones, after the company modified its proposal on changes in the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA.)
This package is arguably better than anything else that's been negotiated recently in the newspaper industry, although it is short of the contract we were seeking— and short of what we believe you deserve as employees of the gold standard of journalism.
We've been fielding questions from hundreds of members about the proposal since it was first offered September 4th. There have been countless comments arguing "This Isn't Fair." And every one of those hard-working, dedicated employees of Dow Jones was right. Unfortunately, "fair" has very little to do with contract bargaining.
We have said it from the very beginning, bargaining is all about power— and what's done away from the bargaining table has more impact on the contract than what is said at the bargaining table.
You won some valuable improvements at a time when the industry is under intense pressure and the landscape is littered with concessionary contracts. The losses we suffered (most notably higher health care premiums, higher costs for drug co-pays and lower Money Purchase Plan contributions for employees hired after ratification) are proof that we are not yet strong enough.
Building the kind of strength we need to truly defend and advance the interests of the membership was never going to be an overnight affair. We have made great strides in revitalizing IAPE— and that effort will continue. It has to— because we'll be sitting across the table from Rupert Murdoch in 2010.
Union President Steve Yount will be visiting IAPE locations across the country over the next few weeks as we prepare for the ratification vote and prepare for the next step in building the strength of your union.
The latest member feedback is on the website along with an outline of the Managed Care plan the company imposed on non-union employees January 1, 2007.