Dow Jones union approves new contract

Employees of Dow Jones & Co., the parent of The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch.com and Barron’s, have approved a new contract calling for 2 percent raises the next three years.

The approval came despite campaigning by a group of influential Journal reporters arguing that the contract should be voted down because the pay raises were not large enough.

Of 1,187 eligible voters, 791 cast ballots for a return rate of 66.64 percent. Of those who voted 516, or 65.2 percent, voted in favor of the contract.

The no votes totaled 274, or 34.6 percent. The contract lasts through 2019.

Both the union and the company have the option to terminate the agreement at the end of the first or second year by giving notice on or before March 15 of 2017 or 2018.  If neither party exercises the right to terminate, the agreement will expire July 30, 2019.

The agreement includes an extension of the company’s 2016 health insurance plan and a freeze of health insurance premium rates for all members of the bargaining unit for 2017.  Premium increases and plan changes are scheduled for 2018 and 2019 under the terms of the new agreement, which will match the company’s non-union plan.