The future of the National Union of Journalists as the leading independent voice of journalists was secured this morning when motion 127 was withdrawn at the Delegate Meeting.
The motion called for the NUJ to become a media workers union in order to remove unnecessary divisions within workplaces and ensure that the NUJ’s industrial strength and recruitment opportunities are maximized.
General Secretary Elect, Michelle Stanistreet delivered an impassioned plea urging us to safeguard the Union’s prospects by allowing the motion to be withdrawn. She said; ”The future of our union is tied very closely to our ability to stand alone and maintain our independence and our distinctiveness.”
Yet not all members agreed. Michael Preston, member of the Disabled Members Council, expressed concerns about the state of journalism. He said the motion was a complicated issue because the it reflects the fact that the industry is in a state of flux with many journalists.
Media convergence, and part time journalism means that the industry is changing dramatically at the moment.
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Donnacha DeLong says:
April 10, 2011 at 11:17 pm (UTC 1)
There was more to Michelle’s speech – primarily that we hope Unite will get better at recruiting and organising non-journalists in media workplaces and that there needs to be discussion across the union about what the future should be. Motion 127 may have gone, but the issues that led to it being proposed in the first place still need to be resolved.
NUJ delegate meeting 2011: Dear bows out, NUJ votes not to destroy itself, attack on unpaid internships… | The Wire | Press Gazette says:
April 11, 2011 at 11:48 am (UTC 1)
[...] A motion suggesting the NUJ should effectively kill itself off and become a general union for media workers was withdrawn. [...]