Dow Jones Newswires Employees in New Jersey Seek Union Representation Based on Majority Support

For More Information:  Steve Yount or Tim Martell, IAPE TNG-CWA Local 1096, 609-799-1520 - www.IAPE1096.org

New York -- IAPE Local 1096 of The Newspaper Guild-CWA notified Dow Jones today that it is claiming representation rights on behalf of more than 200 newswire employees at the company's Harborside facility in Jersey City, N.J.

The union, which represents about 2,000 Dow Jones employees in the United States and Canada, reported that a majority of the union-eligible Harborside employees have signed union authorization cards.  The collective bargaining agreement at Dow Jones contains a "card check" provision calling for the employer to grant union recognition when majority union support in a facility has been verified.   

Local 1096 President Steve Yount said he expects details for certification by a neutral third party to be worked out shortly, noting, "We have strong majority support."

The Harborside operation is the largest remaining non-union editorial unit at Dow Jones, Yount said.  "The employees realize that they are impacted along with all the rest of us by issues at the bargaining table, and that we need to stand together," he said.

In ongoing contract talks at Dow Jones, key issues for the employees center on management proposals for "drastic cuts in our health care and prescription drug benefits that would substantially reduce our income," Yount said, along with job protections and wage standards.

Yount credited the work of "a strong and enthusiastic internal committee" for the employees' organizing victory.  Most of the Harborside employees are reporters and editors for Dow Jones Newswires, along with technical, sales and support personnel.

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IAPE Local 1096 is affiliated with The Newspaper Guild-CWA, a sector of the Communications Workers of America, which represents nearly 700,000 workers in telecom, print and broadcast media, airlines, manufacturing, health care and other fields.