Dow Jones and Wall Street Journal UK management have halted voluntary recognition talks with the National Union of Journalists to instead recognise News Union, the union funded by its sister company News UK.
Managers told staff on Tuesday afternoon it was doing this because the NUJ “would only represent a small subset of our colleagues”, whereas News Union “are able to represent all eligible Dow Jones International employees, not just those in the Newsroom”.
The news provoked anger from the NUJ’s general secretary, who called it “a blatantly cynical attempt to circumvent our members’ right to collective representation by the trade union of their choice”.
The NUJ lodged a request for statutory recognition with Dow Jones management in February, kicking off a negotiation process that was due to end by this month – either with a voluntary recognition agreement or referral on to the Central Arbitration Committee for a final, binding decision.
The move to instead sign a voluntary recognition agreement with News Union comes shortly before Dow Jones would have been compelled to go to the CAC and, depending on the result, potentially bound to recognise the NUJ.
Members of the same bargaining unit cannot be represented by two different unions, so the company’s recognition of News Union effectively scuppers the NUJ’s recognition bid. The NUJ typically requires union volunteers to have recruited half the eligible staff at their newsroom as members before it will formally lodge a request for statutory recognition.
NUJ general secretary Laura Davison told Press Gazette: “Our members were inspired by other organising efforts to establish their NUJ chapel and seek their own legitimate voice in their workplace and have been working hard to achieve this for many months. They represent a clear majority within the proposed bargaining unit covering the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires.
“They were within a few days of submitting an application to the CAC for statutory recognition after engaging in voluntary talks in good faith. The news of this stitched-up, behind-the-scenes deal was emailed out to the workforce in a clearly planned move – just moments after NUJ organisers were told at a scheduled meeting.
“There is huge anger among our members at these orchestrated actions to try and lock them out of their collective rights in the worst traditions of union busting; particularly at this moment in time, under a new UK government and on the cusp of new employment rights being introduced.
“This agreement can have no legitimate standing in the eyes of our members. We will be exploring all options to uphold their collective rights and bring wider support to their campaign.”
The Dow Jones NUJ chapel organising committee said: “Dow Jones employees representing a strong majority of eligible NUJ members in London have been speaking in good faith with the company in an effort to reach agreement about independent union recognition we believe would be good for the company and its employees.
“We are disappointed the company chose instead to bypass these discussions in favour of a company-organised and company-funded News Corp union that until now Dow Jones had not recognised. We are seeking advice about our options under these circumstances.”
What is News Union?
News Union, which is based at News UK’s London Bridge offices, is recognised by the government as a union but does not hold a “certificate of independence” affirming its separation from company management.
Known until 2013 as the News International Staff Association, News Union was denied a certificate of independence in 2001 because it had “not yet reached the stage where it can be said that the vulnerability to interference by the employer is insignificant”, according to a certificator. The body grew out of worker councils set up by News UK’s predecessor entity, News International, in the wake of the Wapping dispute.
The NUJ has never had a large presence at News UK titles The Sun and The Times, in part because of the existing recognition of News Union. The NUJ attempted to undermine the company union’s presence at News International amid the phone-hacking scandal when it emerged the company had handed journalists’ confidential source correspondences over to police.
One Dow Jones staffer told Press Gazette they had not heard of of News Union until receiving the emails about it on Tuesday. They said: “Most of my colleagues think this News Union is pretty weird.”
In an email inviting Dow Jones staff to join up as members, News Union said: “We represent employees and negotiate on matters such as pay, terms and conditions, reorganisations, restructuring, attendance patterns, hours and holidays. News Union is FREE to join. Membership benefits include advice and support on workplace issues, and access to free employment legal advice when necessary.
“News Union already holds the collective bargaining rights for more than 3,000 employees of News UK, News Corp Services UK and Newsprinters, the joint venture print business of News UK and DMG. We are proud to welcome DJI staff to this group, and look forward to making your voice heard.”
News Union had 1,299 members at the end of July 2024, suggesting approximately 43% of eligible employees had signed up.
According to its most recent Companies House accounts Dow Jones International employed an average of 387 people in the year to the end of June, of whom 223 worked in newsgathering roles.
News Union receives almost all of its income from News UK. According to its most recent annual statement, 97% of its £327,000 grant funding came from the company while the remaining £10,000 came from a sister company named NCS UK. The body does not generate any income from member dues.
The union does however elect representatives and bargain on behalf of members, having previously reportedly secured pay rises and limited reductions to compulsory redundancies for its members.
Asked to comment, a Dow Jones spokesperson said: “We announced today that we signed a recognition agreement with News Union to represent all eligible Dow Jones International employees in the UK. We have heard from our employees a desire for collective representation and believe the News Union will be an inclusive and effective partner in these efforts.”
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
