Membership at the National Union of Journalists has declined more than a fifth in a decade, its annual returns show.
That compares with a less than 4% decline in union membership in the UK generally, according to Office for National Statistics figures.
New Press Gazette analysis of the NUJ’s annual accounts follows a vote to raise membership fees by 5% this year and a further 5% in July 2024.
Inside the NUJ’s annual reports
In 2012, the NUJ’s total membership stood at 31,019 people, of whom 25,897 were paying members.
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The union’s most recent return, for 2022, puts it at 24,528 members, of whom 20,722 pay. 2020 was the only year during that decade in which total membership did not decrease.
The latest membership figure is 21% lower than in 2012 and 32% lower than in 2004, the first year for which online returns are available.
This decline does not necessarily correspond with a shrinking journalist population generally. Although an imperfect measure of the number of journalists because of their small sample sizes, data from the Labour Force Surveys by the ONS indicate the number of journalists in the UK has generally risen since 2017 from 73,000 to 101,500 (however, new census data from 2021 found there were 55,688 journalists in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and probably about 60,000 across the whole UK).
The NUJ does not just represent journalists and does not only operate in the UK. The union has books and PR branches, and has more than 2,000 members in Ireland.
The NUJ’s returns also show the union has seen a slight rebalancing in its gender parity: in 2012 women made up 36.4% of members, whereas in 2022 that figure stood at 39.9%. (The percentage of people describing their gender as “other” was 0.9%.)
Membership income has remained largely level since 2012 in nominal terms. The union’s subscriptions income in 2022 totalled 3.7% higher than in 2012 - despite inflation of 25.7% over the decade.
The largest other sources of income, visible on the chart above, were fair value gains on investment property, the revaluation of land and buildings, and actuarial gain - meaning lower than expected payments toward the union's pension funds.
By far the largest of the NUJ’s annual expenses is staffing, which accounted for 39.6% of the union’s £6,094,294 costs in 2022. Other major costs that year included occupancy charges (7.7% of the total) and legal services to members (8%). The Journalist magazine, which members may elect to receive as part of their subscription, now costs the union approximately £60,000 a year, having once run at a cost of over £170,000.
Why is membership declining?
An NUJ spokesperson suggested the Covid-19 pandemic and people leaving journalism had contributed to the fall in membership, telling Press Gazette: “Clearly Covid had an impact, with many freelances being forced out of the industry.
"There has been less attrition for staff and higher paid members, so our overall income has not been badly hit.
“Of course, we are concerned about the endless rounds of redundancies and restructures in the UK and Ireland, including the recent ones at Reach and National World. We do lose members that way, but also when times are tough people realise the worth of being a member of a union.”
However, some journalists suggested to Press Gazette that high subscription fees were contributing to the NUJ’s membership decline.
“They cannot be putting the NUJ fees up again,” said one. “I spent six months recruiting for the chapel at [a major publication] and everyone said they couldn’t afford the fees as it was…
“It’s a lot to ask, particularly of younger colleagues with less secure jobs who would benefit most.”
One journalist told Press Gazette they decided not to join the union because there were cheaper ways to acquire a press card. Another, who is a member, said they would likely quit the NUJ soon because they did not feel they got enough value from it.
What are NUJ membership costs and how are they changing?
NUJ delegates voted at their conference in April to increase subscription fees by 5% from July and again in July 2024.
That rise is below the rate of inflation, which has lingered above 8% in the UK for a year. However, it increases fees that are already high compared with other trade unions.
From July, NUJ rates will stand at £17.85 a month for those earning up to £20,000 a year (grade one), £22 a month for those earning between £20,001 and £29,000 a year (grade two) and £30.50 a month for those earning £29,001 and up (grade three). Fees will increase at the same rate for Irish members, whose subs are billed in euros.
In comparison, a “full-time enhanced membership” - the most expensive option - for generalist union Unite costs £16.25 a month. At Unison, the UK’s largest trade union, members earning over £35,000 a year are expected to pay a monthly fee of £22.50.
The NUJ’s subs are also high compared with other smaller, sector-based unions. RMT members earning any amount over £23,600 are billed £23.40 a month, and members of civil servant and public sector union PCS pay a maximum of £15.17 monthly.
Subscriptions at entertainment industry union BECTU are capped at a maximum of £29.17 a month for those making £35,001 a year and up. A BECTU member earning £29,000 a year would pay £22.92 monthly, £7 less than a colleague on the same salary at the NUJ.
The high subs were a topic of discussion during the NUJ’s conference debate on raising rates, according to the union’s write-up. Emma O’Kelly, chair of the Dublin broadcast branch, reportedly said current rates were a barrier to recruitment, and Yvonne Deeney of the Bristol branch said the union had lost many low-paid members.
However, the National Executive Council’s argued that cost increases needed to be met with an increase in income, and the motion was passed by the necessary two-thirds of conference.
What an NUJ subscription buys you
The NUJ spokesperson said that its subscriptions “are broadly in line with subs in sister unions in the media/creative industry”.
They emphasised: “We are a campaigning union – for example representing member Chris Mullin in court so he could protect his source, running high profile cases such as Samira Ahmed’s successful and landmark equal pay case and we regularly use legal means to try to secure and protect journalists’ rights and press freedom. This obviously comes at a cost.”
Last year journalists at Reach went on strike, and a subsequent pay deal still saw lowest paid members of staff gain between 14% and 44% for specified roles rather than the company’s proposed 3%.
At the Financial Times lowest paid journalists received a £4,200 pay rise following NUJ negotiations in December. And last week a planned NUJ strike at Vice UK led the youth publisher to increase its proposed redundancy terms for 23 staff - originally £2,000 and statutory pay - by £3,000 each.
Numerous journalists told Press Gazette they felt the NUJ’s subscription costs were money well spent because of these types of results.
Being a freelance member of @NUJofficial has saved me money through challenging copyright grab clauses, brought new work opportunities, given me access to cheap skills training and specialist advice that I wouldn't be able to afford elsewhere. I've also made loads of friends 😊
— Natasha Hirst FRSA (@HirstPhotos) June 22, 2023
Having lived through Wapping, two redundancy programmes, an unreasonable book contract and an unfair dismissal I wouldn't dream of not being in the union. When the sewage gets in the air conditioning and you need legal advice you realise how cheap union membership is.
— Annie Shaw (@CashQuestions) June 22, 2023
The NUJ’s 1% rule
The union appears to be aware of the problems posed by membership costs. The resolution passed in April to increase fees also instructed the NUJ to raise awareness among members of the 1% rule, which states that members should never have to pay more than 1% of their taxable income.
The motion also binds the union to holding a special conference in autumn at which it will discuss a potential restructure of the subscription grades.
In the meantime however, the spokesperson for the NUJ said: “We will always argue that for anyone in the media, publishing or comms, the NUJ subs are well worth it for the service they get personally – when things go wrong at work, the networking opportunities, training, etcetera – as well as having an advocate in the industry and for press freedom.”
Disclosure: The author of this piece is a member of the NUJ.
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