April 18, 2007
Shareholders' Meeting
IAPE was front and center at the Dow Jones Annual Meeting Wednesday, making a strong presentation to directors and shareholders in support of our demands for a quality contract.
Pulitzer Prize winners James Bandler and Charles Forelle spoke movingly of the need to continue to support the approach to quality journalism that permitted them to write their prize-winning series of articles on stock-option abuses.
Washington correspondent Michael Phillips spoke powerfully on behalf of war correspondents about the anger they feel when they risk their lives in the Middle East, and then return to discover that senior managers are trying to cut their pay and benefits. IAPE members who were present are still talking about Mike's calculation that the company is paying $667 a day to transport Rich Zannino to the office in a chauffeur-driven car.
IAPE Bargaining Committee Chair Jim Browning spoke on the importance of maintaining our health benefits, and on the growing anger in the newsroom at the threat cutbacks pose to our journalistic quality.
IAPE president Steve Yount spoke in support of a quality contract.
Union members who attended said they saw the speeches' impact on directors' and senior executives' faces. Middle managers came up to speakers afterward to thank them for speaking out, and the issues we raised were discussed by directors after the meeting. Feel free to pass this note (and the links to the speeches) along to your boss. This is their fight as well and the comments your colleagues delivered Wednesday might give middle-managers a better understanding of what we're doing— and why.
We hope our presentation persuaded management to abandon some of its more draconian bargaining proposals. But we aren't deluding ourselves. It will take continued pressure on our part if we are going to get the quality contract we need.
The next bargaining meeting is Monday, where we will present our latest proposals. As always, we will keep you fully apprised of progress. Your support of this effort has been outstanding, and we thank you for it.
Steve Yount
President
Jim Browning
Bargaining Committee Chair