Dow Jones, union agree to one-year contract extension

The Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees (IAPE), Local 1096 has reached a tentative agreement with Dow Jones & Co. on a one-year extension of the collective agreement covering some 1,500 employees across the United States and in Canada.

The deal, agreed to by representatives of the union and the company on Friday, July 11, has been approved by the elected board of directors of Local 1096, and will be presented to IAPE members for a ratification vote later this month.

The extension of the current collective agreement, which had an expiration date of June 30, 2014, but remains in effect thanks to a 60-day “evergreen” clause, provides salary increases of at least 2 percent for all IAPE-represented employees retroactive to July 1, 2014. All other terms and conditions of the 2010-2014 contract remain unchanged.

The extended contract would have a new expiry date of June 30, 2015.

“The team thought the extension was the better choice for IAPE at this point in time,” said IAPE President Bob Kozma in a statement. “The one-year extension preserves the current contract features and protections we have enjoyed. In addition, the one-year extension guarantees a wage increase for this year.”