The National Union of Journalists has said that it will support its members employed by Vice UK to attain Union recognition and collective bargaining.
The NUJ has seen a growth in membership from employees at Vice UK, and has been working with the chapel in order to enter into talks with the company. The NUJ is seeking recognition in the first instance from Vice UK, which would then give its members the right to negotiate pay and conditions with Vice UK’s management.
Laura Davison, NUJ’s national organiser said: “I’m really impressed by the enthusiasm and positivity of the Vice UK NUJ chapel. They have stressed the constructive role the chapel wants to play in the company’s future. We are heartened by the initial response from the company and look forward to engaging in positive and productive talks towards NUJ recognition.”
The Vice chapel also issued a statement: “After several months of organising, we – the editorial, production, and post-production staff of VICE UK – are proud to have built a strong and active VICE UK union chapel. With majority support in all three departments, and strong NUJ membership, we have decided again to petition VICE UK management for formal union recognition. Many of us were drawn to work at VICE because of the company’s outspoken and long-standing commitment to innovative journalism, truth-telling, and social justice.
“VICE is a company that prides itself on being youth-focused, and supporting the issues facing many marginalised groups today. We are determined to uphold the progressive values that VICE embodies and believe everything that we stand for as a union is in line with these commitments. By unionising VICE UK, workers hope to address several key business priorities: the fair management of redundancy processes, pay equity and transparency, and the problems that persist when it comes to diversity and representation. We also wish to use our union chapel to advocate for industry-leading practices when it comes to the management of our freelance workforce, who are crucial to VICE UK’s success. We stand for the fair and equal treatment of VICE UK workers, inspired by the incredible work of our US colleagues.
“We strongly support other parts of VICE UK organising through the relevant trade union for them, if this is something they believe is important to them. For any colleague hoping to unionise, we will stand by you at every step, and offer help where we can. We wish to reiterate that we view a VICE UK NUJ chapel as a positive step forward in the relationship between VICE UK workers and managers. We are all proud to work at VICE UK, and hope this will be the beginning of a long, positive and industrious working relationship.”