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Renewing Journalists’

Trade Unions in Europe

European Federation of Journalists

European Trade Union Institute

Berlin 11 to 13 October 2012

Mogens Blicher Bjerregård

President of the Danish Union of Journalists


Union Challenges

• From the Industrial society towards the society of knowledge

• The basic rules are challenged

• Union, business or both

• Focus on job

• Freelance strategy

• Identity of journalists

• Competition in organizations


From Industry to Knowledge

• Union movement peaked together with the industrialization

• From 1st of May to Me first

• Old trade unions loose members and power

• Professional associations are taking over leadership

• Reformation of unions needed

• New focus areas


Play the game or not

• ACTA

– The civil society was activated

– The Telecommunication companies as drivers

– Play by different rules

• Conflicts

– Difficult to communicate

– No support from civil society

– New generation is not familiar with the

background of the labour market


Gary Hamel

You can choose to tolerate the present

or

You can choose to develop the future


SWOT-analysis

• Make a picture of the organization

• Focused development

• Involving of the staff

• Involving of the board

• Involving of the members


Trade union as a business

• Wait for the burning platform

– Reliable day-to-day work

– Reactive in procedures

• Create the burning platform

– Creative approach to day-to-day work

– Proactive in procedures

– Management of transformation


Focus on job

• Inclusiveness

− Scrutiny of all job for journalists

− Follow the members and believe them

− Include new jobtitles

− Proactive recruitment

• Exclusiveness

− Focus on core journalist jobs

− Warn the members and the union knows best

− Afraid of new jobtitles

− Reactive recruitment


Freelance strategy

• Strength, openness and balance in payment

• Mutuel interests and solidarity freelancers-employed

• Union visibility in the freelance environment

• Alliances with other organizations

• Alliances with entrepreneur societies.

• Be entrepreneur and create your own job

• Challenges in the legislation

• When freelancers employ colleagues

• Demands from the union

• Face reality in the freelance life


Out of the isolation

• Isolation makes unions weak

• Cooperation makes strong

− Create alliances

− Mutuel respect

− The key is Listening

− Be openminded for opportunities


Identity as the driver

• Journalists

− Code of conducts

− Quality

− Further education

• Information officers

− Code of conducts

− Quality

− Further education


• Be better to tell ”What’s in it for me?”

• From cash cows to core members

• Balance in fees – you get what you pay for

• Focused recruiting

– At universities and other schools

– New type of workingplaces

– Old workingplaces

Competition in organising


Danish case

• Membership− 1999: 9.000 (7.000 full ms. 1.200 stud.,

800 pens.)− 2012: 16.000 (12.000 full ms. 2.500 stud.,

1.500 pens.)− 2015: 18.000 (14.000 full ms. 2.800 stud.,

1.200 pens.)− Recruitment policy

• Strategy− Focused biannual transformation− Focus on leadership or management− Be proactive demand driven− Follow your members− Thrust your members


The story of the fee

• Fee policy

− Low fee – cheap membership

− High fee – chancy development

− High fee enough to make a difference

• Transparency

− Easy to see the benefits

− Follow the money


Core challenges

• How to transfer the classical trade union into a modern organization?

• How to get together with the civil society?

• How to coach our members in finding or creating their own job?

• How do we support a strong identity?

• How to develop the service at a high level?

• How to make a real difference?

• Then we can recruit and make a difference

grafik og illustrationer placeres efter hjælpelinjer renewing journalists’ trade unions in europe...

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