End union-busting by News Corp
The NUJ has blasted blatant union-busting by News Corp, thwarting a recognition bid by the union.
For months, UK-based journalists had pursued union recognition with the NUJ at the Wall Street Journal and its publisher, News Corp-owned Dow Jones.
The NUJ engaged openly and constructively with the company for weeks, participating in voluntary talks in good faith. But three days before the end of talks, management announced to NUJ reps and negotiators that they had instead chosen to recognise News Union.
Who are News Union?
News Union receives 96% of its funding from News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp, and shares the same office in London Bridge. Unlike the NUJ, News Union does not hold a certificate of independence - which is issued as legal proof that the organisation is not liable to interference or control from an employer.
Journalists are shocked and angry at this cynical attempt to remove their ability to choose who represents them collectively. The NUJ says action by News Corp confirming News Union undermines workers’ rights and is a blow to industrial relations.
Why does this affect the NUJ’s push for recognition?
Workers in the same bargaining unit cannot be represented by two different unions.
Recognising the News Corp-funded ‘union’ blocks the NUJ from applying to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) – the body responsible for determining recognition, thus deliberately denying staff’s right to representation by the trade union of their choice.
Outrage and solidarity
In a clearly orchestrated move, management broke the news to staff via email just minutes after abruptly ending voluntary talks. Journalists at Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal were shocked by management’s top-down decision to appoint a non-independent ‘union’ to represent their collective interests.
Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, said News Corp’s actions were “in the worst traditions of union-busting.”
The NUJ Dow Jones chapel organising committee issued with the following statement:
"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."
The chapel received strong support from colleagues in Canada and the US. The Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees (IAPE), which represents over 1,300 employees at Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal across North America, responded with outrage and solidarity:
“IAPE knows a company union when it sees one. While the National Labor Relations Act outlawed such bodies in the United States in 1935, IAPE was first incorporated in 1937 as the Dow Jones Employees Association as a means of keeping strong, international unions—like what was then known as the American Newspaper Guild, which would eventually become The NewsGuild of today—out of the WSJ newsroom.
This is a despicable way for history to repeat itself.
After decades of fighting to become a true union, IAPE eventually established itself as a representative body for Dow Jones employees in the United States and Canada, affiliated with the Communications Workers of America in 1996 and eventually became a full-fledged Guild local union.
We see no reason why our colleagues in the United Kingdom should experience a similar struggle. IAPE calls on Dow Jones management to respect the democratic choice made by its employees in London, and to recognize the NUJ as the rightful bargaining agent for WSJ and Newswires staff, as petitioned for in February.”
Outdated tactics, outdated legislation
Thankfully, the legislation that allows for corporate-controlled unions to keep out independent unions should soon be consigned to history. The upcoming Employment Rights Bill is due to change legislation so that workers can still apply for statutory recognition even if a non-independent union already has recognition.
While this is welcome, the Bill is scheduled to be implemented in 2026 at the earliest. Journalists like those at the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones should not have to wait a year without genuine, independent representation. The NUJ has urged its Parliamentary Group to seek assurances from government that urgent legislative review will be undertaken to ensure similar efforts to undermine workers’ rights and industrial relations are avoided.
Allowing companies like News Corp to continue to act in this manner has serious implications for the wider trade union movement. Union-busting by News Corp shows that changes to the Employment Rights Bill must be implemented faster.
The union is urging parliamentarians to condemn and scrutinise News Corp’s attempt to remove workers’ agency whilst calling on the UK government to close all legal loopholes that undermine workers’ rights and allow for corporate capture of collective representation.
How can you support the campaign?
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Raise awareness: tag the NUJ’s social media accounts in your posts opposing News Corp’s actions.
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Share this campaign page with your union and encourage them to stand in solidarity by sending a message to [email protected]