Branch April 2020


Welcome to NUJ Branch, a special newsleter for branches to provide information and swap experiences during the present crisis. We can report that the Zoom meetings have been a great success – and will undoubtedly change how we’ll be doing our business in the future. Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary, in her message to you, shares her first experience as a virtual guest branch speaker and brings you up-to-date with the NUJ’s recent work – and how your branch can get involved.


T


his week I was the guest speaker for the Edinburgh Freelance Branch. Tis did not involve a 500-mile journey and overnight stay,


instead I caught up with NUJ colleagues aſter a busy day of meetings and calls, and was able to hook in from my kitchen table. Since the lockdown, Edinburgh Freelance has been organising meetings on a weekly basis, atracting new atendees, organising guest speakers from across the union and responding quickly to members’ issues and concerns. And at the meeting I atended, as secretary Mark Fisher reported at the end, it wasn’t just gender-balanced - it was actually a majority of women in atendance. A number of other branches have been similarly proactive, and finding that there is a real appetite from members to connect and engage with the union at this challenging time. We have all become Zoomers – the


soſtware has been a real hit during the crisis from holding Zoom cocktail parties to Zoom NUJ branch meetings. One positive aspect has been lots of new faces appearing at the meetings; some because they are concerned about the present situation, but others who have just found it easier to atend virtually whilst juggling work and home life.


Tese are incredibly difficult times, with hundreds of newspaper journalists on furloughs and facing pay cuts, publications closing or taking a pause, freelances and photographers seeing their work disappear over-night. Tat is why it is doubly important that we can keep in contact with members. Tere is lots of advice on the NUJ’s website and information is being sent out from (the now virtual) Headland House - but branch activity on local issues is more important than ever, as is maintaining or developing contacts with nearby chapels so we can meet the challenges together and provide joined-up support. Members are keen to hear more about


the work the union is doing. I have been taking part in weekly meetings with the Secretary of State and DCMS officials, alongside other industry representatives, we’ve been having regular contact with the Treasury, and working closely with the TUC and ICTU as we grapple with the various government schemes, fighting to ensure the right protections are in place. We are batling against cynical employers taking the ‘never waste a crisis’ approach to further compromise already stretched standards and resources. We’re keen to help branches organise, engage and support the broader


membership and to that end I hope this newsleter will be useful. It’s an opportunity to share the experiences of colleagues and to galvanise your branch behind the union’s initiatives, such as the News Recovery Plan, our new campaign to sustain the press and media through the Covid-19 crisis and reinvigorate the industry into the future – please sign the petition and contact MP/ TDs and other political representatives in your areas. Please also support our #ForgotenFreelances campaign, highlighting those falling through the cracks of government schemes. If your branch hasn’t already, please make a donation to NUJ Extra, the union’s hardship fund and perhaps consider some virtual fundraising initiatives that could bring colleagues together socially – I hear that online quizzes are also becoming a thing! And please complete our Covid-19 survey. Most of all look aſter yourself, your


loved ones, fellow members and colleagues.


In Solidarity,


Michelle Stanistreet


NUJ


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