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NUJ wins union recognition battle with new media giant AOL

The NUJ was awarded automatic recognition at AOL (UK) part of the giant US media conglomerate AOL on Wednesday. (25/5/05).

The decision was made by the Central Arbitration Committee despite fierce objections from the company, which was trying to force a ballot even though the union had proved it had more than 50 per cent membership.

This is the NUJ's first recognition victory in a stand-alone new media company. Time Warner, the parent company, is the world's biggest media company.

NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear said: "This is a great triumph and the NUJ members who worked so hard on this landmark agreement should be extremely proud of themselves.

"We are now looking forward to negotiating an agreement that will help us work for better terms and conditions at AOL (UK)."

The NUJ had been running a recognition campaign at AOL for about two years. One of the first issues raised by the NUJ was the issue of union representation at disciplinaries and grievances.

Talks went nowhere and when the company started a reorganisation involving considerable redundancies last December, the NUJ put in its claim for statutory recognition. NUJ members organised a petition objecting to the derisory redundancy terms offered (1 week for every year).

This was later increased, but the company denies that this was anything to do with the NUJ’s intervention.

Donnacha DeLong
Homepage: http://www.nuj.org.uk

Comments

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NUJ

28.05.2005 14:24

there are 27 000 members in the nuj. incredible to think that a crowd about the size of a charlton home gate, is responsible for churning out the entire amount of spew that accounts for british media. well done people. high productivity.

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NUJ2

28.05.2005 17:00

it's ironic that the nuj was one of a dozen unions to oppose the iraq war. how do union members square this with the fact that - with the exceptions of the independent and the mirror - all uk media supported the war before it happened and now all uk media - including the independent and the mirror - are back onside with the government talking trivia instead of talking about the war crimes of blair? presumably, they write one thing and believe another. oh dear.

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Ignorance is no excuse

29.05.2005 11:24

Try stopping your ignorant knees from jerking for five seconds and listen...

"incredible to think that a crowd about the size of a charlton home gate, is responsible for churning out the entire amount of spew that accounts for british media"

Don't be stupid - the membership of the NUJ is NOT responsible for the entire output of the British media; how can it be? Most journos are not in the union and the "worst offenders" in the press (The Sun; The Mail etc) do not recognise the union.

Most NUJ members write for small local titles and have NO SAY over editorial policy - this is dictated by the fatcats who own the media and their political cronies.

"it's ironic that the nuj was one of a dozen unions to oppose the iraq war. how do union members square this with the fact that - with the exceptions of the independent and the mirror - all uk media supported the war before it happened and now all uk media - including the independent and the mirror - are back onside with the government talking trivia instead of talking about the war crimes of blair?"

Not true. The Morning Star [insert outdated sectarian prejudices here] is a national daily newspaper sold in newsagents and it vociferously opposed the Iraq war, the Afghan War, the Serbian War, the Kosovan war etc etc.

It also bangs on frequently about the "war crimes of blair"

NUJ policies are highly progressive, for the most part, and hysterical attacks on trade unions because they are based within capitalist industries (we live in a capitalist society if you hadn't noticed) are frankly pathetic.

Why not raise a cheer that AOL workers are now going to at least have some protection from exploitation.

Or are you gonna be too busy roaming the streets beating up McDonalds workers for "supporting capitalism"?

pissed off NUJ member

There's a word some people need to learn...

29.05.2005 14:57

... if they think they're lefties - the word is solidarity. Anti-war protestors who think they're left-wing, yet go around bashing one of the most active and openly left-wing unions around, haven't a clue.

The NUJ represents individual journalists, NOT editors and proprietors like Richard Desmond or Rupert Murdock and their lackies. Individual stories and photos do not make up a pro- or anti-war stance, that's up to the editorial pages and the editorial choice of stories. The mouthpieces of the NUJ are the Journalist magazine, the individual Branch newsletters and the website; all of which have maintained a consistently strong anti-war stance.

The NUJ does not get to choose the position of individual journalists employers, nor is that the job of the NUJ. The job of the NUJ is to defend journalists' employment rights (you know that stuff people were protesting in favour of on Mayday) and to fight for adherence to the NUJ code of conduct -

http://media.gn.apc.org/nujcode.html often in the face of extreme opposition and pressure from editors (for example:

http://keywords.dsvr.co.uk/freepress/body.phtml?category=freepress&id=660).

Basically, I have one message to the two trolls who responded to my message - grow up and learn your history - look at the work of James Connolly, or James Larkin, or Emma Goldman and the wobblies or any of the thousands of activists and revolutionaries who have worked with trade unions. The trade unions are the heart of the left and it's only be playing a full and active part in trade unions that we can maintain their left-wing origins and prevent them becoming tools of the bosses.