New Proposals for Workplace Returns

On Oct. 15, IAPE reps met with Dow Jones officials and presented a new set of pandemic proposals addressing remote work and eventual returns to company workplaces. New proposals from the union cover health and safety concerns and union rights to negotiate over compulsory in-office assignments, as well as notice to employees when potential exposure to Covid-19 cases exist.

IAPE also proposed a requirement for “proof of full vaccination against Coronavirus for all Employees, vendors and guests who wish to enter a Dow Jones facility.”

The latest union document also repeats demands first presented one year ago seeking monthly stipends for home internet service and reimbursement of up to $750 per employee for home office expenses—proposals Dow Jones has yet to address.

The company’s failure to negotiate over IAPE proposals from October of 2020 prompted the National Labor Relations Board to issue a complaint against Dow Jones in September.

IAPE “Attends” Union Conventions
IAPE reps Jodi Green, Patricia Corley and Tim Martell joined their union siblings from across the continent this week to attend virtual conventions of our parent unions, The NewsGuild and the Communications Workers of America. Originally planned to be held in New Orleans, both meetings were moved to Zoom due to the ongoing pandemic.

IAPE’s delegates were active participants in the sector conference of The NewsGuild, with Green serving as a member of the union’s credentials committee, while Martell was elected as an alternate on TNG’s election committee.

NewsGuild members were at the forefront of the convention as CWA constitutional amendments, proposed by Guild members, addressing harassment and discrimination were overwhelmingly approved by union delegates. During the preceding TNG sector conference, members also adopted a resolution requiring local union officers to “take self-guided or guided anti-discrimination and anti-harassment training in the first three months of each term in office.” Both measures were proposed in response to disturbing news last year involving allegations of misconduct by a former president of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh.

The next conventions are scheduled—fingers crossed—for the summer of 2023 in St. Louis.

Contract Ratified in Bowling Green
On Oct. 14, IAPE members at The Wall Street Journal printing plant in Bowling Green, OH voted 7-1 to approve a new, two-year collective agreement.

The new deal provides for 2% pay increases retroactive to Jul. 1 as well as lump-sum payments of 0.75% of each employee’s pay as of Jul. 1. Effective Jul. 1, 2022, wages will increase again by 2%. Minimum salaries have also been increased.

Juneteenth will be a contract-recognized holiday beginning in 2022 and employees will be excused from work early on evenings prior to a requirement to serve jury duty.

The Great IAPE Pumpkin Contest!
Do you have amazing pumpkin decorating skills? Are you a whiz with a jack-o-lantern carving knife? You still have a few days left to share your best work with other IAPE members and win a prize!

We want to display our members’ creativity for all to see. Email photos of your or your loved ones’ painted and carved pumpkins to union@iape1096.org. We’ll feature them in upcoming posts on IAPE Twitter, Instagram and Facebook feeds. Our panel of IAPE judges will determine the most impressive member submissions, and will award a $50 gift card to the best in each category: decorated or carved. Deadline for entries is Oct. 25 at 3:00 PM EDT.

Winners will be announced on Oct. 26, National Pumpkin Day!

Happy Wag-o-Ween from Union Plus!
In keeping with the Halloween spirit, Union Plus is celebrating union members’ best friends with a photo contest!

To enter the Union Plus Wag-o-Ween Contest, submit a photo of your cat or dog in costume. Entries must be submitted between Oct. 21 and Oct. 31. Union Plus will select the finalists, and union members from across the United States will vote on winners between Nov. 5 and Nov. 10. Two winners will each win a $500 Grand Prize and ten First Prize winners will receive $50!

Only cat or dog submissions from union members in good standing and retired union members will be eligible to win. Enter now!

Join us for Contract 101 - Job Security
The next IAPE Contract 101 class will be held on Nov. 3 at 2:00 p.m. EDT. We’ll focus on job security, just cause protections against discipline, layoffs and seniority. Visit the IAPE Events Page to register.

If you’re curious about your own seniority within your department, remember, you can always contact the IAPE office to find out more about your seniority protection.