WSJ photo editors win right to join union

Photo editors and lead photo editors at The Wall Street Journal received notice that the National Labor Relations Board has directed an election to be held so they may be represented by IAPE TNG-CWA Local 1096, the union that represents Journal editors and writers.

The mail-ballot representation election must be concluded by Sept. 8, 2023, almost one year to the day after photo editors first filed an NLRB petition to be represented by IAPE.

In his decision, NLRB Regional Director John D. Doyle Jr. wrote that the election will apply to “all full-time and regular part-time photo editors and lead photo editors, including features photo editors, lead features photo editors, and news photo editors.”

The regional director rejected arguments by the company that photo editors and lead photo editors are supervisory employees, according to the union.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.