JUDGEMENT is critical in industrial negotiation. How much to demand? When to ballot? Whether to strike? Will members stick together? When has the best offer been tabled? Calling those effectively is the first duty of every trade union.

I’ve spent 17 years as an NUJ organiser, developing skills, grappling with management at the BBC, FT, Reach, Vice and many, many others. Before that I was a BBC journalist — propelled into NUJ membership, chapel activism and then into working for the union, because I saw the difference the union makes to its members and to journalism.

That’s why I’m standing to be my union’s general secretary — because I want to use that experience and industrial track record to deliver for members when it really matters, and leading a team that does the same.

This summer, the four-year campaign that I co-ordinated at PA (the Press Association) alongside our outstanding reps, resulted in a new NUJ recognition agreement, after decades with the union locked out. That work is already inspiring other workplaces to organise. 

Recognition is the first step. Our PA chapel is now engaged in its first pay negotiations — real improvements for members will result, attracting further new joiners.  

I have successfully led resistance to damaging pension scheme changes and saved threatened jobs. I have won improved pay structures and transparency, opposed long hours and delivered better casual and freelance rates. Throughout I have supported members through highly stressful times — as all our reps do in their vital work across our grassroots.

Like every union, the NUJ faces challenges. Membership levels are pressured by dramatic changes in our industry. Funding shortfalls in public-interest journalism are intense. Concentrated media ownership translates as too many employers only interested in the bottom line. The personal support the NUJ provides to members places heavy demands on staff. Journalism itself suffers from: Slapps, declining public trust, hostility on the streets (particularly from right-wing protesters), and periodic police over-reach.

But there are opportunities too. After aggressive derecognition in the 1990s, we have rebuilt NUJ presence across the media — despite the current legislative shortcomings and in the face of corporate hostility. Promised new laws should allow us to accelerate this process. 

The NUJ also faces a changed environment in Whitehall. Five years ago, we were frozen out of policy-making. Our News Recovery Plan, published during the pandemic, transformed that. Critically, it enabled us to shape the UK government’s Safety of Journalists strategy. Its action plan is a positive start but there is more to do.

Our union has a long history of defending media freedom — case law that we sponsored defines the legal parameters in which journalists operate. The NUJ must remain unrelenting in its support for members when they face challenges that undermine them professionally and our community of journalists’ collectively.

Internationalism runs deep in the NUJ. A century ago we co-founded the International Federation of Journalists and no other journalists’ union, or its members, have given so generously to support our colleagues in Ukraine, Afghanistan and Gaza. I will nurture this as the impulse to offer meaningful solidarity defines us as trade unionists.

Without broad support, I would not be standing. Committed activists are key to any union delivering, which is why I am honoured to count over 150 members among my supporters. They represent chapels, branches and interests across the UK and Ireland, as well as continental Europe. They include freelances, staffers and every skills group we represent.

The NUJ’s achievements are diverse and manifold. As a workplace activist and seasoned union organiser, I know the difference collective action makes to our members’ lives. I see firsthand how having a collective voice at work gives our members confidence, with a renewed sense of agency and commitment to securing improvements in their pay and conditions. I want to build that across the whole union — certain that recent success at PA, Reach and Springer Nature will inspire others. 

To do any of this, I need NUJ members to vote in this election. Ballot papers were posted on September 16, so if you have not received one, contact gselection@nuj.org.uk. You can find out more about my campaign at www.laura4gs.co.uk.

Thank you.