Peter Kann, the chairman and CEO of Dow Jones, just found out he has not quelled union unrest at the troubled media giant after all.
Only weeks after the bargaining unit for the Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees hammered out a tentative new wage and benefit package for the next three years with Dow Jones, the union has reversed itself.
In a memo released yesterday, the full IAPE board said it was urging its nearly 2,000 members to turn thumbs down on the tentative contract – a move almost certain to doom any chance the contract had of passage by rank-and-file members.
Insiders were said to be particularly incensed over the “no wage hike” provision for 2003 and the health benefits package the bargaining unit had agreed to.
Under terms of the tentative pact, there was to be no wage increase this year, but members would receive a one-time $1,000 bonus. Next year, under the tentative pact, wages would rise 2.5 percent, followed by a 3 percent hike in 2005.
The last contract expired in April.
Since the bargaining unit reached the tentative accord, IAPE has had a change in top leadership. Ron Chen, the union’s previous president, did not stand for re-election, and Virgil Hollander, a longtime deputy leader, was elected to the top spot.
Tom Lauricella, who represents newsroom employees of Dow Jones, said of the “no” recommendation: “We basically feel the agreement, when it comes to wages and health care, is not in the best interest of our members.”
A spokeswoman for the company said it has not abandoned hope the pact will be ratified.