WSJ reporters speak at contract negotiations

Wall Street Journal reporters spoke before the IAPE 1096 union that represents them began a contract negotiating session with Dow Jones leadership.

The union reports, “Six Wall Street Journal reporters—Miriam Gottfried, Erin Ailworth, Ben Kesling, Kate King, Paul Kiernan, and Andrew Tangel—delivered powerful accounts of how current proposals from management have been received in the workplace.

“If you weren’t one of the record-breaking 140 IAPE members who joined as open bargaining observers, you missed one heck of a presentation.

“‘I have given almost my entire professional life to this company,’ Gottfried said to Dow Jones representatives, ‘and I have never felt more disrespected by its leadership.’

“Gottfried explained that her job as a financial reporter requires her to parse through corporate jargon when she writes about the companies she covers. ‘It is insulting to me and my financially savvy colleagues when Dow Jones tries to cherry-pick data about our competitors’ contracts to position what it is offering us as a fair deal,’ Gottfried said. ‘We know better.’

“Ailworth emphasized the need for a flexible in-office working policy. ‘I sit in a row that was originally meant to house three people and now houses four. Our smaller desk spaces are, I kid you not, marked off with blue painter’s tape.’

“‘You already know what would fix this,’ Ailworth said. ‘A work-from-home policy that gives employees more flexibility. It would also result in a defacto pay increase for many who could forgo some commuting and childcare costs.’

“In addition to the need for increased pay and better working conditions, Ailworth noted the recent ‘brutal’ and ‘unfeeling’ layoffs of News colleagues in Washington as detrimental to WSJ culture.”

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