The IAPE 1096, the union that represents business journalists at The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch.com and Barron’s, sent out the following after The Journal laid off staffers in its Washington bureau:
Also this morning, more than 30 WSJ award-winning News employees are trying to understand why editor in chief Emma Tucker has decided their positions are an obstacle to her plans. Tucker opted to let others announce that news for her—apparently, that’s not part of her job.
Yesterday, WSJ’s Washington Bureau fell victim to a round of layoffs that were worse than any of us could have expected, despite weeks of rumors and media reports predicting significant workforce reductions. Meanwhile, we have watched industry colleagues at The Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and The Messenger face similar situations.
Yet Tucker’s decision to eliminate 17 IAPE-represented reporters and columnists and at least 13 non-union editors—while also applying pressure on other, senior reporters to take layoff packages or face punishing performance plans—was completely gratuitous. WSJ is doing well. Dow Jones is doing well. News Corp is doing well. Analysts expect the company to report $130 million in profit for its latest quarter when it reports results Wednesday.
In a 4:59 p.m. EST email to staff, Tucker announced a “new Washington bureau will focus on politics, policy, defense, law, intelligence and national security.”
As if it didn’t already.
Tucker’s representatives dutifully marched into the building on Thursday morning. At 10:30 a.m. ET, Liz Harris, Charles Forelle, Phil Izzo and Elena Cherney entered the DC bureau. Harris, staring at a piece of paper, mumbled something about a DC reorganization, saying people would receive individual meeting invitations by noon. She refused to take questions.
As Harris left the room, one employee fired a parting shot: “Hope you had a good time in Davos.”
For the next several hours, people stressfully refreshed their email inboxes waiting for a dreaded calendar invite. Some didn’t arrive until after 12:00 p.m. EST, causing some to erroneously believe they were safe from Tucker’s cuts. The last one-on-one meetings didn’t happen until nearly 4:00 p.m. EST.
Harris, Forelle, Izzo and Cherney would leave the room after just a few minutes, refusing to look people in the eyes. Members were told they would leave the details to HR.
Harris, Forelle, Izzo and Cherney should be ashamed. Following orders is not an excuse. Paul Beckett refused to fire his own people and was punished for it. He did the right thing.
If some of the Journal’s best reporters aren’t safe, none of us are safe.
The loss is devastating. And while IAPE can’t prevent management from issuing layoff notices, we can fight to protect the severance pay they deserve—severance benefits management wants to control without contractual protection. We can demand our departing colleagues leave the company with as much financial support as possible.
IAPE representatives are still at the bargaining table, fighting for a better contract—one that makes sure our members get the pay and benefits we deserve as Dow Jones continues to post record profits on the backs of employees. We will not back down, and know the more than 1,400 people this union represents won’t either.
The union is only as powerful as its members. They can’t fire all of us, as much as Tucker may wish she could.
We have heard that many members are furious about what happened yesterday in Washington. We are too. Let’s turn this anger into action and ensure this never happens again.
Please join us on Monday for a virtual zoom town hall meeting as we discuss IAPE’s next steps and the current state of the contract negotiations. Sessions are scheduled for 11:30 a.m. ET and 4:00 p.m. ET. Regis
