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Independent Association of Publishers' Employees Records

Call Number

WAG.238

Dates

1937-2003, inclusive
; 1985-1995, bulk

Creator

Independent Association of Publishers' Employees
Communications Workers of America. Local 1096 (Princeton Junction, N.J.) (Role: Donor)

Extent

13 Linear Feet in 13 record cartons

Language of Materials

Materials are in English

Abstract

The Independent Association of Publishers' Employees (IAPE) represents all categories of employees of Dow Jones and Company and the Wall Street Journal. The IAPE was founded in 1946 as the Dow Jones Employees Association of New York, and was renamed the Independent Association of Publishers' Employees in 1954. The IAPE maintained its independence through two failed attempts at affiliation with larger international unions, the Graphic Communications International Union in 1987, and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in 1990. The membership finally approved affiliation to the CWA's Printing, Publishing and Media Workers Sector (PPMWS) in 1996, and the Association was chartered as Local 1096 of the CWA. The collection contains minutes, correspondence, bargaining files, administrative files, publicity material, background files on issues of concern to the union, photographs, and buttons.

Historical/Biographical Note

The Independent Association of Publishers' Employees (IAPE) represents all categories of employees of Dow Jones & Company and the Wall Street Journal, including journalists, editors, printing plant workers, clerical and technical staff and sales staff. Workers in Information Technology are now the single largest group represented by the union. The IAPE was founded in 1946 as the Dow Jones Employees Association of New York. The union's name was intentionally broad to indicate that the union would represent not only Dow Jones' reporters and writers but all of the company's employees. The organization was renamed the Independent Association of Publishers' Employees in 1954 when it expanded to include the employees of The Wall Street Journal; the intent was also to indicate the future possibility of expanding the union's membership further. The local now includes workers at several Dow Jones-owned companies.

In 1977, when preparing for a union election in which he was challenging the incumbent president, Eric Frankland, a former IAPE vice-president, was denied permission to copy the names and addresses of IAPE members from union records. He filed suit against the union, but lost the case, which was then appealed to the New York Supreme Court. The final result, documented in the collection, was that Frankland was allowed to view the membership list, but would not be able to take notes, or make copies of the roster.

The IAPE maintained its independence through two failed attempts at affiliation with larger international unions, the Graphic Communications International Union in 1987, and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in 1990. In 1996, under the leadership of president Ron Chen, the membership voted to approve affiliation to the CWA's Printing, Publishing and Media Workers Sector (PPMWS) becoming Local 1096 of the CWA. On January 1, 2000 the IAPE became part of the Newspaper Guild, which itself had affiliated with the CWA in 1998.

The IAPE has engaged in contentious negotiations with the management of Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal over issues of job classification, pay rates, and workers' benefits. The union also became involved in the controversy over the Dow Jones Board of Directors' choice of Peter Kann as CEO. The IAPE was outspoken in protests over compensation agreements with Kann and his wife, Wall Street Journal publisher Karen Elliot House.

Arrangement

The records are arranged in three series. The contents of each series are arranged alphabetically, and the contents of Series III: Photographs and Buttons are arranged alphabetically and chronologically. The series arrangement is as follows:

Series I: Bylaws, Constitutions and Minutes, 1937-1998
Series II: Subject Files, 1955-2003
Series III: Photographs and Buttons, circa 1986-2000

Scope and Content Note

The collection contains the records of the Independent Association of Publishers' Employees (IAPE) dating from 1937-2003 including Board of Directors minutes, bylaws, correspondence, bargaining files, administrative files, publicity material, background files on issues of concern to the union, photographs, and buttons.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection, created by the Communications Workers of America, Local 1096 (Independent Association of Publishers' Employees), was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:

Identification of item, date; Independent Association of Publishers' Employees Records; WAG 238; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by the Communications Workers of America, Local 1096 (Independent Association of Publishers' Employees), in 2004. The accession numbers associated with this gift are 2004.013, 2004.016, and NPA.2006.029.

Custodial History

The archived website was migrated from the California Digital Library's Web Archiving Service to the Internet Archive's Archive-It Service in November 2015. The link to California Digital Library was removed in October 2017.

Collection processed by

Adam Schafenberg, 2005-2006

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 16:37:00 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description is in English

Processing Information

Photographs and buttons were separated from this collection during processing and were established as a separate collection, the Independent Association of Publishers' Employees Photographs (PHOTOS 231). In 2013, the photograph and button collection was reincorporated into the Independent Association of Publishers' Employees Records (WAG 238).

In 2014, the archived website was added as Series IV.

Edition of this Guide

This version was derived from IAPE Wagner 238.doc

Repository

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012