2006 Annual Meeting minutes

Brighton and Mid Sussex NUJ Annual Meeting, Wednesday October 18 at Brighthelm Centre, Brighton.

Present: Barbara Wiseman, Rachael Glazier, Adrian Colley, Cath Quinn, Amanda Wilkins, Fred Pipes, Gordon Scott.

1 Apologies received from Jemima Kiss, Carole Benton and Adam Juniper.

2 New members elected - Carina Westling, Katherine Perriam, Ygraine Cadlock, Nicola Tann, Katherine McGlinchey

3 Officers' reports. Treasurer Adrian Colley gave the financial report (to be put up in full on site over weekend). The branch has a healthy £2,191.60 in the bank, as of September 30, 2006.

4 Election of officers. Amanda Wilkins and Cath Quinn were elected co-chairs. Adrian Colley and Rachael Glazier were elected as co-secretaries. Adrian Colley was re-elected treasurer.

5 Correspondence - copies of Searchlight magazine, Free press and Justice for Colombia magazine circulated.

6 No chapel reports

7 Subscriptions - meeting backed re-subscribing to the Justice for Colombia campaign and the Trade Union Friends of Searchlight at a cost £50 each.

8 There were no nominations for the National Executive Committee

9 There were no nominations for the NUJ's industrial councils.

10 Christmas party - meeting was asked for suggestions. Adrian Colley suggested a move away from last year's venue, the Cricketers in Brighton, as the cost of drink was fairly expensive. Caxton, Leo's Lounge and Fitzherberts offered as possible venues to be investigated. Several dates were discussed the preferred options were Wednesday December 13 or 20. Branch secretaries will look to book something by the end of the month.

11 Women's Conference, London, December 2. Free NUJ conference for women at HQ in Gray's Inn Road (more details further down the weblog, see Oct 18 entry): details circulated to meeting.

12 Any other business. Barbara Wiseman, enlarged on a recent hospital stay she endured and which left her less than impressed by the current state of the NHS. She felt the branch should express concern about the local NHS .

She was asked to consider a motion to bring back to next month's meeting for discussion.

She also pointed out that money was about to 'wasted' on the Trident missile system which she felt could be spent on better things.

Brighton Cluster

For the seriously workshy, another group is meeting on Friday (27 Oct) too. It's called the Brighton Cluster and is described as being 'for small business owners and freelancers and independents, and people who want to be those things'. I've never been but heard it's quite good. Below is a message from Matt who runs it.

This is short notice, I knowbut I thought you'd like to know that theBrighton Cluster clusters again this Friday27 Oct, at 10am - this time for coffee, not beer, and at the Mad Hatter cafe, which is on the corner of Western & MontpelierRoads, and plotted for you on a map here http://www.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&lr=&q=mad+hatter+bn1. Can you make it? Let me know y or n. If you've not been before, and don't knowwhat anyone looks like, I'll be mostly wearing a very yellow t-shirt with John &Paul &Ringo &George written on it. Any questions?- ask away.

Matt Weston
http://www.businessbricks.co.uk/

Fish and chips this Friday

There's a group of Brighton freelancers meeting this Friday (27 Oct), 1.30pm at the Regency restaurant (http://www.theregencyrestaurant.co.uk/index.htm) on the seafront. Anyone is welcome to come along, please email Geoff ( ge@geoffreyellis.co.uk) so he can let the restaurant know how many there will be.
Most members are freelance journalists, prs and graphic designers who like to meet up for a drink or two every few weeks. To join email brightonfreelancers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Job-finding service

Unofficial branch job-finding guide ie some ads lifted from the Guardian yesterday.

West Sussex County Council are looking for a media adviser. 27 to 30 grand. First piece of advice should be to tell the illiterate so-and-sos to cap up their name.

And Redhill-based A Place in the Sun is looking for a writer/sub and production/sub-editor.

Freelancers to the rescue

Just a quickie to confirm that we will continue into 2007. Thanks to all who attended the annual meeting, especially Barbara Wiseman, who is 95, and came to her first meeting for 18 months.

The actress who played Reggie Perrin's wife in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin was spotted in the centre shortly before the meeting started - she was attending a do downstairs.

Anyway, Amanda Wilkins and Cath Quinn have been elected co-chairs. Adrian Colley and Rachael Glazier will be co-secretaries. I'll put up the minutes on the site next week.

Next meeting is Wednesday November 15.

NUJ Women's Conference

Past times - future challenges

Headland House (NUJ HQ), Gray's Inn Road, London. Saturday December 2, 10.30am to 4.30p,

Speakers to include:

• Sarah Veale, TUC head of equality and employment rights dept
• Megan Dobney, S East Regional TUC secretary
• Prof Mary Davies, Centre for Trade Union Studies, London Metropolitan University
• Other speakers on international issues and womens' safety to be confirmed.

Meet other like-minded women members and discuss issues that affect you. Conference is free to all NUJ women members. Lunch and refreshments provided.

To book your place email Lena Calvert at lenac@nuj.org.uk

Branches are asked to nominate at least one woman member to attend.

Draft agenda for annual meeting

If you want something added to it, let us know and it can be done.

1 Apologies

2 Officers' reports: secretary, treasurer. Unlikely to be chair's report as Jemima Kiss is unable to make the meeting

3 Election of officers - chair, secretary, treasurer, welfare officer

4 Accounts - annual account (to be put on site this week)

5 Motions for Annual Delegate Meeting in Birmingham. If you have any motions you would like to propose to be discussed at next year's union conference, now's your chance to have it adopted by the branch.

6 Nominations for National Executive Council. If you want to stand on the union's most powerful body you have to be nominated by the branch.

7 Nominations for various NUJ committees, such as the new media council, ethics council

8 Xmas party - any suggestions for venue? How much should we spend?

9 Renewal of subscriptions. Our subs for Trade Union Friends of Searchlight and Justice for Colombia are due.

10 Chapel reports

11 Any other business

Office space to rent

From branch member Nick Morgan (click on the headline to access his website):

I'm a freelance journalist and have just taken on an office right by Hove train station. There is more than enough room for two so I'm offering to share for £120 per month which includes all bills - that's a very good deal.

The journalist should be a successful freelancer who is left of centre and has a GSOH.

Cheers

Nick Morgan
http://www.nickmorgan.com/

Venezuelan knees-up

The branch is not affiliated but I am and I got this in the post.

Members of the Hands Off Venezuelan are invited to its second national conference in Britannia Street London on Saturday November 4.

If you're not a member you can go for a tenner (as a trade union delegate). Contact britain@handsoffvenezuela.org or click on the headline to go through to their site.

Searchlight

Copy of Searchlight mag for October can be put in the post if you want it. Major feature on racism in Northern Ireland in this month's issue.

Annual Meeting - October 18

I have booked a room in the Stanmer room at the Brighthelm Centre in central Brighton for our annual meeting on Wednesday October 18, which starts at 7.30pm.

More details and agenda will be posted here and sent out in the next week. If you have anything you want to be discussed at the meeting, get in touch, we can put it on the agenda.

This meeting is very important to the future of the branch. It looks like we WILL continue for another year as people have come forward to help fill positions that need filling. Thanks very much for interest shown so far.

But if you can make it, please do. We will be discussing such things as motions for next year's delegate meeting of the NUJ. And where to hold the Christmas party!

After the meeting we will adjourn to one of the pubs across the road for a few drinks (paid for by the branch!).

Free Press

Copies of the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom's mag - Free Press - can be put in the post if you want one.

July/August edition features Tony Benn on whistleblowers and items on the Official Secrets Act and the government's proposed changes to the Freedom of Information Act.

NUJ lawyers' emergency number

Your legal rights guidance, if you're nicked by the police or if they ask to interview you - Call Thompsons emergency 24-hour number is 0800 587 7530.

Annual Delegate Meeting motions

Next year's ADM is in Birmingham's Holiday Inn from April 12-15.

If you want the branch to put forward a motion to be debated by the meeting then this is your chance. The deadline for us to submit motions is November 24. That means we have this month's meeting, and next month's, to come up with something.

If you have anything in mind, please write it down and bring a copy to the October meeting so we can debate it. In the past a couple of our ideas were thrown out because they were ambiguous, so the simpler and more concise the better.

The ADM preliminary agenda is out just before Christmas. We can then submit amendments to motions, if we want. The final agenda will be out on March 5.

Searchlight

September edition of anti-fascist mag available. Email nujbrighton@gmail.com with your address and I can put it in the post.

Feature on halting the rise of the BNP. A supplement commemorates the Spanish Civil War and the Battle of Cable Street.