Why are we Updating IAPE Bylaws?
/Over the past year, the IAPE Bylaws Committee has worked on updates to union Bylaws—IAPE’s governing document. On Sept. 27, 2025, the IAPE Board of Directors, in a majority vote decision, authorized a member referendum to approve this updated Bylaws document. IAPE members will vote to decide whether new Bylaws should be adopted or not in an online election scheduled to run between Nov. 17 and Dec. 4.
The IAPE Bylaws Committee is hosting Town Hall meetings on Nov. 4, Nov. 13 and Nov. 18 so members can find out more about the need for a new Bylaws document. Register to attend at the IAPE Events Page. The Committee has also prepared the following responses to questions from members.
Don’t see the answer to your question? Ask here: union@iape1096.org. The IAPE Bylaws Committee will update this document throughout the referendum period.
Bylaws referendum Election Notice
What are union Bylaws?
Bylaws are a set of rules for a union, intended to determine how a union operates. The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act requires that each labor union in the United States have a set of member-approved Bylaws defining basic items like the union’s name, local number and international affiliation with parent unions. They must also identify the officer positions within the union—roles like President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and for IAPE, our regional director positions—as well as rates of dues and fees.
Why are we updating the Bylaws?
Current IAPE Bylaws have been in place since Dec. 1, 2003. Our union has changed significantly over the past 22 years. In 2003, IAPE represented employees in four separate bargaining units. IAPE had 1800 members working across the United States and Canada in 35 office locations. Today, IAPE is smaller, in several respects: a single bargaining unit of Dow Jones employees, only 1265 dues-paying members, with eleven offices and several members working from their homes. The Bylaws Committee has drafted a document better reflecting IAPE’s current membership makeup, and anticipating changes IAPE may need to make very soon.
What has been cut from the current Bylaws?
Several items, including:
Classification Director
New Bylaws eliminate the Classification Director position from the IAPE Board of Directors and replace it with new regional representatives. The Classification Director was intended to be a representative for members according to their Dow Jones business unit, and we currently have four available positions: News, Technology, Sales and Administrative. These days, members are more likely to reach out to IAPE representatives they interact with most often, and most are not aware of the distinctions between these Classification rep roles.
Executive Council
The IAPE Executive Council is a subset of the IAPE Board of Directors. In 2003, the IAPE Board only met twice each year, and the smaller Executive group was responsible for IAPE decisions in between those biannual meetings. Today, with everyone more comfortable meeting remotely, the full IAPE Board meets almost every month. There is no longer a need for this layer of bureaucracy within the IAPE structure.
Newsletter
Current Bylaws require IAPE to publish, at least once each year, a newsletter containing IAPE financial information. IAPE has not printed an actual newsletter for several years. All IAPE financial information is posted on the union's website.
Outdated Language
Current Bylaws describe the addition of extra Board of Directors positions for Dow Jones facilities with 1,000 or 1,500 members. Sadly, we do not expect to see Dow Jones locations with that number of IAPE-represented employees ever again.
What has been added to the new Bylaws?
The Bylaws Committee has completely rewritten these Bylaws and has made a few notable changes:
Legacy IAPE
The current bargaining unit of IAPE-represented employees at Dow Jones will be known as “Legacy IAPE.” The current IAPE dues rate (lowest among peers within our parent unions, The NewsGuild [TNG] and Communications Workers of America [CWA]) will be protected and may only be decided upon in the future by Legacy IAPE members.
Regional Representation
New Bylaws clearly define how Legacy IAPE members will be represented by region—even down to the county level in California, where IAPE’s Northwest and Southwest Directors represent current Dow Jones members. To replace current Classification Director positions, one additional regional representative will be added to each Board of Director region with the exception of Canada.
“Public conduct of the Local”
The new Bylaws finally recognize that IAPE is a union with nearly half its membership consisting of journalists, and must guarantee that journalistic principles are observed and respected when it comes to public conduct of the local. In other words, these Bylaws establish that IAPE must never endorse political candidates or participate in campaigns for public office. Any public positions IAPE wishes to announce shall take the form of a Board of Directors or membership meeting resolution, and all members shall be given advance notice of proposed public positions.
Possibility of new bargaining units
While current Bylaws allow for new bargaining units to be added to IAPE, these new Bylaws describe a formal process for the addition of newly-organized groups, with self-representation under TNG’s organizing model. New units would function separately from “legacy IAPE” and would pay higher rates of dues established by TNG and CWA. The new Bylaws also confirm that any new organizing opportunity must be approved by the IAPE Board of Directors, with priority given to representation of workers within media and publishing industries.
How are new Bylaws approved?
Through membership referendum vote. Between Nov. 17 and Dec. 4, current IAPE members in good standing may vote on the question of whether to adopt new Bylaws through a referendum conducted by TrueBallot Inc. Members will receive email invitations to vote in an online election. Current Bylaws require a two-thirds majority of members who vote in the referendum in order for Bylaws to be changed.
When will new Bylaws take effect?
If IAPE members vote to approve these new Bylaws, changes will take effect immediately.
Why didn’t I hear about these new Bylaws before now?
Current IAPE Bylaws restrict the process for making changes, and state: “Amendments to the Bylaws shall be presented to the Local membership upon the recommendation of a majority of the members of the Board of Directors present and voting at a regular or special meeting, or upon the petition of fifteen percent (15%) of the members of the Local.” Once the Bylaws Committee finished its work, it presented draft Bylaws to the IAPE Board of Directors, where amendments were proposed and a final package was adopted. Except in the event of 15% of IAPE members requesting a referendum, approval from the IAPE Board of Directors was necessary before a draft could be shared with members.