Branch business beckoned

THERE WAS much by way of accumulated Branch business to get through at November's hybrid online and in-person-at-the Conway Hall London Freelance Branch meeting.

Technical issues: the view of the in-real-life part of the November LFB meeting as seen via Zoom

screenshot arguably © Matt Salusbury

We had a stack of Branch motions as well as motions to put before the NUJ's Delegate Meeting (DM), its conference, the next one is in London at the end of April.

One such motion had proved sufficiently controversial in the previous meeting that it was felt we needed more time to debate it, so back it came to November's gathering. We also had a bunch of nominations to make for elections to various NUJ Councils and Committees, with a deadline to do so that was shortly after the meeting.

The In Real Life end of the meeting was also beset with technical issues. The camera that connected the live-from-the-Conway-Hall end of the meeting to the Zoom end of the meeting in cyberspace didn't work. So our Chair, Tim Gopsill, had to somehow connect via his own laptop. Those addressing the meeting from the meeting room in the Conway Hall had to so by somehow getting into shot over Tim's shoulder using the camera on his laptop, or appear just as a disembodied voice out of shot. Those joining via Zoom couldn't see the gathering in the meeting room.

Despite all this, and there being a lot to get through by way of "really important union democracy," Tim put it, the Branch covered all of it.

The meeting also had an update on LFB member Paddy French's libel case, with a vote to adopt a related motion to take to DM on journalists suing each other. See here.

Also raised at the meeting was the National Security Bill, at the time of the meeting making its way through Parliament. This threatens to downgrade protections against police seizure of journalistic material, makes taking photos of "prohibited places" an offence and treats journalists with the same suspicion as foreign agents. LFB's own Duncan Campbell gave us an update and added that action was urgently needed. For the Union's National Executive Council, Tim Dawson pledged to approach the NUJ's allies in Parliament. For more on the Bill, see here.

Tim Dawson also reported back on the recent arrest of three journalists by Hertfordshire Police while covering Just Stop Oil protests on the M25 motorway. They were arrested despite showing Press Cards. Tim noted that the NUJ immediately protested to police chiefs. The "robustness" of the NUJ response added to chorus of objections by police chiefs from other forces, which has gone some way to reinforcing idea that police should allow the media to do our jobs.

Julio Etchart of the NUJ's Photographers' Council reported that this body had already discussed the arrests. NUJ Freelance Organiser David Ayrton added that another of the NUJ's regular meetings with police is coming up soon. The affair of the arrest of the three photographers will definitely be on the agenda.

Going through those motions

The main event, though, was a motion on forms of NUJ membership. Jenny Vaughan proposed this. It is in response to so many members having to take on work outside the journalism profession as well as within journalism in times of recession. Currently, only those who earn 50 per cent of their income can join the NUJ, this motion proposed instead a threshold which would be a percentage of minimum wage.

An earlier resolution brought by LFB, also a Jenny Vaughan initiative, had instructed the NEC to look into this. It was passed at the last DM, in 2021. While the NEC's Finance Committee are currently on the case it hasn't yet resulted in any changes to the Union's rules. Jenny's proposal for a new motion on membership for LFB to take to DM came before the Branch meeting in October, after a lively debate it timed out so it was back on the agenda in November.

Jenny Vaughan, speaking to the motion, addressed concerns about "part-timers" getting hold of Press Cards and thereby damaging the integrity of Press Card system. She reminded members that "You don't get a press card unless you need it." The majority of NUJ members, including Jenny, have no Press Card. The criteria for membership and for Press Card eligibility are different.

In times when "It is easier to make a living in IT in one day than in five in some local journalism," Jenny warned that "if we don't take people in to union who earn less than 50 per cent of their income from journalism - we wouldn't be stopping people working, we'd close them out" of involvement in the Union. She urged members to "get all the people who are trying to be journalists in and represent them.

Andrew Wiard, who worked on developing the current Press Cards system, said that the motion was "blurring distinction between part time and full time" in journalism, which was "very, very dangerous... We already give Press Cards to temporary members" and these can go on to become full members who have Press Card. He predicted that those NUJ members who were part-time journalists would bring "extraordinary pressure to start issuing them Press Cards", which in turn "will wreck the UK Press Card Authority press card scheme." The Union, he said "should establish an appropriate category instead" to accommodate such members, but "not this one."

Tim Dawson described the proposal as a "problem not a solution" while Freelance Officer David Ayrton asked whether the proposal would mean that "many members on a very low income" would join the NUJ. Would that mean that such members would get the full services of the union, given that its staff are "very stretched." (Temporary and student NUJ members already have a limited range of services for which they are eligible, for example they don't have the same access to its legal services.)

Our membership co-secretary Phil Sutcliffe noted there are "two separate rules which govern entry into the Union." This "covers all sorts of ground in relation to membership - it's another decision who gets a Press Card." It would, said Phil, be very good to have this discussion in DM, other alternatives will be put about "part-time journalists", they can be debated. "Get it debated", he urged.

In her closing speech, Jenny noted that other unions with many freelance members - such as the Musicians' Union, the Writers' Guild and actors' union Equity - had "given up" on enforcing anything like a 50 per cent of income rule. Not allowing part-time journalists into the NUJ would mean "we can have no influence on a big group of people... however good they are at their job".

Jenny reminded members of her motion that "you can amend it." (There are opportunities to make last-minute amendments to motions during negotiations at the beginning of DM before the voting starts.) The motion passed.

The November meeting also voted on a motion on the NUJ's Ethics Council and integrity. Chair Tim Gopsill moved the motion, noting that it was from an original idea by Committee member Mariam Elsayeh Ibrahim. She sought to establish an NUJ body to monitor press standards and to fact-check.

While Tim said we as a Union don't have the resources to do this, he added that there was a strong feeling we don't have enough of a voice on this – if the Ethics Council could rule on items of journalism this would do more to raise the Union's profile. A Branch or an NUJ Council would ask the Ethics Council to rule, the Ethics Council could call for evidence or testimony. This would widen the Ethics Council's remit and make it more widely known.

Francis Sedgemore, currently on the NUJ Ethics Council, wanted to comment, although he was neither for or against the motion - nor is he currently in LFB. He noted that the rule book says what the Ethics Council does - it deals with complaints against the behaviour of individual members brought by colleagues, it has the role of advising the NEC on ethics. The bulk of its work, though, is on wider ethics and press freedom. The Ethical Journalism Network fulfils the role that is described in this motion to some degree: this organisation does "what do you want to achieve by this."

Francis reminded members of an upcoming Ethics Council event, and noted that Ethics Council members are open to discuss ethics with members who have questions. There is a fringe meeting organised by the Ethics Council on intrusion into grief in the forthcoming DM in April. The motion passed.

Owen Holdaway proposed a motion to submit to DM on the NUJ's continuing relationship with Google. Owen said that Google had caused the "decimation of news-gathering" and compared its partnerships such as the one it had with NUJ with "greenwashing";;. He asked that the NUJ pledge to consult its membership on the depth of the relationship we have with Google, and to consider terminating it.

It was noted by Tim Dawson that there is in the NUJ's rule book no method for consulting the membership, so he expected that the NUJ's Standing Orders Committee that determines DM procedure would rule this motion "out of order and "put it in order" in a way that would get round this issue and conform the NUJ's constitution. This was accepted. The motion passed.

Another motion for DM on nuclear weapons was amended when it was pointed out by Treasurer Dapo Ladimeji that it included a reference to Vladimir Putin threatening the use of nuclear weapons. It was accepted that while Putin pledged to defend Russian sovereignty by all means necessary, he did not make specific mention of nukes. The reference to Putin and nukes was removed, the motion was amended to say instead that there was a risk of nuclear war. The majority voted for the motion.

LFB also passed two motions about money. One was to underwrite the costs of a forthcoming meeting on Freelances and the Economic Crisis (it's since happened) so the Branch could offer to pay speakers. The other was to be able to pay for the upfront costs – mostly room hire - of a forthcoming LFB Salon event on the theme of nuclear reporting, now scheduled for Wednesday 15 February 2023, which is expected to generate some income.

The Branch nominated candidates for seats on the NUJ's National Executive Council: Tim Dawson for a Freelance seat; Deborah Hobson (current LFB Vice-Chair); and Owen Holdaway; For the Freelance Industrial Council, the Branch nominated: Dapo Ladimeji; Tim Dawson; Mike Holderness; Deborah Hobson; Safi Tazib; and Polly Smythe. For the Photographers' Council London seat we nominated:= Julio Etchart. If there are other candidates for these posts, there will be a postal ballot of those members eligible to vote for that constituency.

Also nominated were LFB's candidates for NUJ Councils, Committees and posts to be elected by delegates at the next DM. We nominated one of our current equality officers Safi Tazib for the Equality Council and also for The Journalist Editorial Advisory Board. For the Ethics Council's London seat we nominated Mariam Elsayeh Ibrahim, who we also nominated as a Women's TUC delegate, with our social media officer Nika Talbot. Our nomination for trustee of the Union's charity NUJ Extra was Francis Sedgemore. For the Appeals Tribunal we nominated our membership secretary Phil Sutcliffe. For the NUJ's 60+ Committee, representing members over 60, our nomination was Jenny Vaughan.

Additionally, we elected our delegates to the next NUJ DM. This will take place on 28-29 April 2023, probably in Transport House, the Trades Union Congress headquarters, in London. Because LFB is the biggest Branch by a long way, we have nine delegates.

Safi, Dapo, Jenny, Mariam, Julio, Deborah and Owen (see above) will be joined by Federica Tedeschi, Matt Salusbury and Jane Cahane as LFB's delegates to DM, with Mike Holderness as a reserve in case one of our delegates is suddenly offered work on those dates that they can't afford to turn down. LFB's delegation has yet to pick its "delegate lead" to head the Branch delegation and an "alternative lead" as a substitute if needed. LINK.

There was so much to cover by way of Branch business that the advertised talk on being a Hollywood reporter by our Membership Officer Mel Lambert - joining us all the way from Burbank, California - was subsumed in the business of elections and debating and voting on motions.

Mel's talk will now be in LFB's Annual General Meeting (AGM)on Monday 9 January 2023.

This will be in the meeting room of the NUJ's HQ at Headland House, whose entrance is at 72 Acton Street, London WC1X 9NB. The nearest Tubes are King's Cross or Chancery Land. The Headland House meeting room now has upgraded equipment to ensure a hybrid meeting with a smoother interface between the face-to-face component and the online via Zoom element.

© Matt Salusbury