Union Says Contract Is Near at Dow Jones

Dow Jones & Company and its main labor union have moved close to agreement on a contract for reporters and other employees at The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, union officials said yesterday.

The board of the union, the Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees, is scheduled to meet tomorrow and may be ready then to endorse a deal and schedule a vote by the membership, the officials said.

The union represents about 2,000 Dow Jones employees, who have been without a contract since January. They include most of the reporters and copy editors at The Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, as well as workers at various Dow Jones properties in a number of other fields, like technology and finance.

“We had another bargaining meeting yesterday, and things got close,” said E. S. Browning, a Journal reporter who heads the union’s bargaining committee. “We’re not quite there yet. We’re waiting for a couple of pieces still to fall into place.”

The company declined to comment.

Last week, Dow Jones presented what it called its final offer, which called for 3 percent annual salary increases for three years and significant increases in out-of-pocket health care costs for employees. Neither the union nor the company would discuss the terms of a possible agreement, but Mr. Browning said that both sides had made concessions this week.

Dow Jones has agreed to be taken over by the News Corporation, controlled by Rupert Murdoch. That deal, which the union opposed, is expected to close in November.

Some employees have said they will be better off striking a deal with current management. But company officials say that Dow Jones has consulted with News Corporation during the talks, and proceeded only with the tacit approval of its parent-to-be.