organisation
Start here
Take five – and keep it human “My first step would be to find five people who are keen on the ideas as well,” says Ruby Lott-Lavigna, mother of chapel at Vice UK. “Start a WhatsApp group and start talking about it and build it from there. “Don’t be freaked out at
the idea – you can’t be fired for joining the union. “And give it a lot of
humour – we send around memes before meetings and we bake.”
Seek out people with experience One journalist involved with HuffPost UK’s union talks stressed the importance of finding someone with union experience, which can be easier than you think: “We found quite quickly there were colleagues with union experience willing to share what they know.” Lott-Lavigna suggests
reaching out further. “Talk to as many people as you can from other workplaces who have or haven’t unionised. Find out about it.”
Don’t be put off by the lingo Union language might not be the most accessible, admits Laura Davison, NUJ organiser, but it is simpler than it may appear. “The basic principles
are easy to grasp. You’re more likely to achieve things working together than as an individual. It’s having that solidarity.” In short, if you’re on
board with the principles, the rest of the lingo can wait.
to say the staff are broadly younger than those on established newspapers. Combine that with incoming cuts, and I imagine it will naturally lead to conversations about protecting staff.” This strikes a chord with younger journalists. One reporter
who was involved in unionisation talks at HuffPost UK in 2018 said their main motivation was a round of redundancies: “There were rumours that the terms handed out were generous, but the process was totally opaque. It felt like every day could be your last. That’s when we began exploring an NUJ chapel. Many of us were in our first or second jobs. It took that period of real uncertainty and change to bring people together.” Though the bid failed to get off the ground, which our source believes was down to a sudden change in senior leadership, they still believe it was beneficial – and that the NUJ has a lot to offer digital outlets. “It worked in the sense that it brought staff together,” the reporter explains. “Our first meetings showed that we had the same concerns and same problems. I think the NUJ is in a good position to help organise digital-only newsrooms, especially those wrought with change and uncertainty in what feels like ever-shortening cycles.” “In recent years, we have seen a shift,” agrees Martinson, explaining that people are increasingly looking to protect their rights “as both journalist and employees”. While Vice UK might be the first tangible example in Britain, there has been a landslide of successful campaigns across the Atlantic. BuzzFeed US staff voted to unionise in February 2019,
following in the footsteps of Refinery29, Slate and satire outlet The Onion. Podcasting company Gimlet Media voted to unionise in March, recognition was won at Vox Media in June then at Hearst US in November. The Vice UK campaign, like those in the US, was openly
played out on social media, with dozens of staff changing profile pictures to the union logo, photoshoots with branded t-shirts and frequent updates. After their victory, they are encouraging other newsrooms to get in touch for guidance. “You have to show people that being part of a union is this
big collective and there are loads of people involved,” says Lott-Lavigna. “It’s a really cool, exciting thing to be part of and no one should be worried or ashamed.” She believes a public presence is key and that branding should be created with the target audience in mind: “If you want to get 18-19-year-old journalists, you need to change the way you appear to them.” For Laura Davison, an NUJ organiser who was involved with the Vice UK campaign, learning from each other is crucial. “What’s so brilliant is you have groups of people in different workplaces and they bring these ideas in and that strengthens everybody. I think that the Vice example is inspiring. And, certainly, we’ve had discussions with other chapels in the wake of that and about looking at these issues for themselves.” At the same time, she believes that most people’s reasons for joining a union are broadly similar, whether they work for a digital or print outlet. “I think wherever people are working they will have concerns that are particular to their workplace,” she says, “but they also have very common concerns.” “The pace of change in news journalism at the moment means the NUJ will always be playing catch-up to some extent,” says Mayhew. “But I think there is a movement to unionise among journalists at digital-only outlets that will continue as long as there’s instability in their workplaces – which, given the existential crisis facing the entire industry, is unlikely to disappear any time soon.” And, with an inspirational example to follow, perhaps that’s exactly what we’re about to see.
theJournalist | 17
DPA PICTURE ALLIANCE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
NETPHOTOS / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
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