News In-Office Work: IAPE Members Speak Out

On Sept. 15, Wall Street Journal Editor in Chief Matt Murray announced changes to in-office working plans for WSJ News staff. Effective Nov. 1, employees are required to work from offices—or, for newsgathering personnel, in the field—at least three days per week.

Today, 245 IAPE members in News departments responded with a letter to Matt.

Signing on to a statement drafted by the IAPE Board of Directors, members told Matt, “We believe it essential to retain a hybrid work environment in which the decision of where to work belongs first with the employee. When employees feel empowered, morale and productivity increase.”

“A majority of IAPE-represented WSJ News staff want management to maintain the option for a hybrid working situation into the future.”

In a NewsNet post last week, Kate Ortega shared responses to office work questions raised by IAPE during a Sept. 22 meeting of the IAPE and Dow Jones Labor/Management Committee. However, the union has yet to receive a reply to a request to meet and discuss the in-office plan for WSJ News.

NLRB to Decide on WSJ Photo Editors
WSJ Photo Editors have petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to review a request to join IAPE. The NLRB has scheduled hearings to review that request, beginning tomorrow, Oct. 25 at 10:00 a.m. EDT, with a possibility of additional sessions on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

You can read more about this filing and why Photo Editors should be represented by IAPE at https://cwalocals.org/unionize-wsj-photo.

Since June 2021, IAPE representatives have been pursuing union representation for WSJ Photo Editors. During regular meetings with  legal representatives for Dow Jones, the union has provided surveys, anecdotes, and other collected statements, showing that Photo Editor roles are non-managerial and should be included in the IAPE bargaining unit.

Photo Editors at The Journal perform similar job functions as their colleagues in union-represented positions, including research, reporting, working with freelancers, and supporting the publication of both the print and digital editions of the paper.

Photo Editors are not asking for a lot—they are simply seeking those same IAPE protections. Union representation will provide Photo Editors with a seat at the table for future negotiations, and better define the boundaries between their work and their lives.

This week’s hearing will be conducted via Zoom and is open to the public — if you would like to attend, please fill out this request form!