29 September 2015

Next two meetings October and November 2015

Dates for your diary

Note that October's meeting has a new date and venue

Monday 12 October, 7pm
The back room (the snug) at the Three Jolly Butchers on North Road, Brighton 
The new anti-trade union laws and how to fight them
Speaker: Phil Clarke, secretary Brighton, Hove & District Trades Council and NUT national executive member

AGENDA
  1. Welcome and apologies
  2. Election of new members
  3. Guest speaker: Phil Clarke, Brighton Trades Council, on the new anti-union laws
  4. The threat to the BBC - possible joint public meeting with Equity and Bectu
  5. Reports - including treasurer's
  6. Future meetings and activities (including Christmas party)
  7. AOB

http://www.three-jolly-butchers.co.uk

Thursday November 12, 7pm
Upstairs at The Eagle, Gloucester Road
The way forward for the NUJ
Speaker: Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary NUJ
Including Q&A

03 July 2015

Branch Summer Party 28 July at the Tempest Inn

Save the date!



Branch Summer Social!

7pm on Tuesday 28 July 2015 at the Tempest Inn, right on Brighton seafront.

There will be free drinks for early birds and quality nibbles too. Bring a partner or friend, especially if they are journalists too.

http://www.drinkinbrighton.co.uk/tempest

To help with planning, please RSVP via Eventbrite

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nuj-summer-party-tickets-17615071152

13 April 2015

Brighton & Hove District Trades Union Council AGM 15 April 2015 King and Queen


Brighton and Hove District Trades Union Council
Annual General Meeting and 125th Anniversary

Wednesday 15th April 2015 7:30pm King and Queen Pub
Marlborough Place, Brighton, BN1 1UB

Local Union members, committee members and workplace reps are welcome.

Keynote Speakers, local reps organising in the Private and Public Sector

Richard Davies BECTU
Rep at the Duke of York's Cinema where union density has in a short time gone from virtually zero to over 50% of the workforce. BECTU members are now working to force union recognition and building a active union among the casualised workforce that can campaign for better contracts and working conditions.

Liz Ritson NUT
Rep at Hove Park School which has seen a joint parent/student/union campaign successfully fighting off privatisation combining industrial action and public campaigning.

We hope the discussion will enable those present to share experiences and advice as workplace reps with a huge range of experience.

125th Anniversary
All attendees will receive a booklet on the history of the Trades Council that was established in 1890. Brighton has long been a strong centre of union organisation even back in 1926 when our town was the most solidly out of any on the South Coast

Constitutional Amendment

To bring the constitution up to date with the position of affiliate AGMs the following is proposed by the executive.

The current Constitution reads:

6, The Annual General Meeting of the Council shall be held on the third Wednesday in February, and will be followed by the ordinary meeting.

Proposed amendment is to delete "be held on the third Wednesday in February" and insert "normally be held in April".

Effect:
First sentence of Section 6 would read:

6, The Annual General Meeting of the Council shall normally be held in April, and will be followed by the ordinary meeting.

Many thanks


Phil Clarke
General Secretary
Brighton, Hove and District Trades Union Council

01273 380819
brightontradescouncil@gmail.com
www.brightontradescouncil@blogspot.com
@brightonhoveTUC
www.facebook.com/brightontradescouncil

23 March 2015

Next meeting: 24 March at the Eagle - Tim Ridgway from Latest TV




Latest TV's News Editor Tim Ridgway has agreed to be guest speaker at 7.30pm on Tuesday, 24 March 2015.

http://thelatest.co.uk/brighton/category/watch-our-latest-shows/news/

Venue is once again the upstairs bar at The Eagle, Brighton.

Tim Ridgway has been Head of News, Sport and Current Affairs at Latest TV for more than a year now, overseeing all elements of production for the newscasts, current affairs and sports programmes.

Previously, he spent almost four years as Local Government Reporter at the Brighton Argus, where he had started as a trainee in 2009, as well as freelancing for national newspapers including the Daily Telegraph, The Observer and Mail on Sunday.

04 March 2015

Newspaper summit 25 April 2015

Major summit for newspapers and agencies

10.30-16.00, lunch provided

Saturday 25th April 2015

Unite's office, Transport House, 211 Broad Street, Birmingham B15 1AY

The union's newspapers and agencies industrial council is holding an event for reps to discuss the challenges in the industry and how chapels and branches can respond.

The summit is being called in response to the fundamental changes facing newspaper journalism.

In the past decade more than 5,000 journalist jobs have gone and 150 titles have closed. Digital newsrooms are transforming the way journalists are expected to work. Despite taking on these changes, journalists have not seen their pay improve and are experiencing heavy workloads because they are expected to bring in stories, cover events, produce videos and podcasts and use social media.

Picture desk employees and staff photographers are being cut across the board and production is being moved away from the local paper to subbing hubs many miles away.

Activists and the union's organisers will discuss these developments, which affect all the major regional publishers, and will review the most effective ways to strengthen journalists and journalism during this period of rapid evolution.

More info on https://www.nuj.org.uk/events/major-summit-for-newspapers-and-agencies/

This event is for NUJ members only. Please consider joining the NUJ if you would like to attend this event.

21 January 2015

Next meeting Tuesday 17 February 2015 at the Eagle

Next meeting: Tuesday 17 February 2015 at 7.30pm
Venue: The Eagle (upstairs) 125 Gloucester Road, Brighton BN1 4AF
www.theeagle.pub



Greg Hadfield will be talking about how he came to be involved in Brighton & Hove Independent with a vision of helping to create "a 21st-century media platform for a 21st-century city."

He will touch on his 35-year career from typewriters and landlines to digital and open data - including his time as a trainee at Wakefield Express; chief reporter at Western Morning News/Western Evening Herald; news editor of The Sunday Times; senior investigative journalist at the Daily Mail; and head of digital development at Telegraph Media Group.

He will particularly focus on the importance of data-driven journalism and networks (both digital and real-world).

But mainly, he says: "I will talk about citizens!"

13 January 2015

Next meeting: 15 January with Ken Montague


Next Brighton and Sussex Branch Meeting at the Craft Beer Co upstairs
Thursday 15 January, from 8pm


22-23 Upper North Street, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 3FG
http://thecraftbeerco.com/pubs/brighton/

Ken Montague from the Campaign Against Climate Change is primed to speak for 15-20 mins, and there will be a model motion to support the Time To Act On Climate Change demo on March 7. As well as that Ken will talk about the urgency of tackling climate change, what trade unionists can do about it and the campaign for one million green jobs, and will raise the debate about the role of media coverage on the campaign, and the promotion of climate change denial.



MODEL MOTION FOR TRADE UNIONS ON THE “TIME TO ACT ON CLIMATE CHANGE!” DEMONSTRATION AND CREATIVE MOBILISATION ON 7 MARCH 2015.

This branch/region/trades council notes with concern the findings of the latest report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Penal on Climate Change and agrees to support the “Time to Act on Climate Change!” national demonstration and creative mobilisation in central London on March 7th.

It notes in particular the conclusion of the report that “Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere and oceans have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, and sea level has risen”.

It also notes the strong recommendation that governments take immediate and concerted action to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to avoid a catastrophic increase in global temperatures of between 4.5 and 6 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial conditions by the end of the century.

In view of this, and the clear evidence that global warming is already affecting the world’s weather patterns, we are dismayed at the failure of governments to reach a binding agreement on limiting emissions and are continuing to implement energy policies that involve the large scale burning of fossil fuels.

It believes that public pressure, including that from trade unions, must be mounted to ensure that this situation is rectified at the crucial COP talks in Paris in December 2015. It further believes that measures like those proposed in the “One Million Climate Jobs” report would not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also, by boosting the economy, offer an alternative to austerity.

The branch/region/ trades council therefore resolves:


To encourage members to join the “Time to Act on Climate Change!” demonstration on 7 March, to take the branch/region/trades council banner, and to contribute to the theme blocks of the demonstration as appropriate to the industries covered by the union - Transport, Water, Energy, Food, Divestment, and Climate Jobs.





To give whatever assistance it can to any local action to mobilise support for the demonstration and to encourage other trade union bodies in our area to do likewise. This may include contributing to the cost of a coach to take local people to the demonstration.





To affiliate to the Campaign against Climate Change and to send a representative to meetings of its Trade Union Group. [Affiliation fees: branches and trades councils £25, regions and County Associations £50, national unions £150.]





To make a bulk order for copies of the new edition of the One Million Climate Jobs report for sale to members. [Copies can be ordered through the link at http://www.campaigncc.org/greenjobs.]





To notify the organisers of the demonstration of our decision by e-mailing info@campaigncc.org.



24 November 2014

Branch Xmas Party

Come and socialise with fellow journos!

The Branch Xmas Party will at the Lord Nelson, Trafalgar Street, Brighton BN1 4ED

on Tuesday 16 December… from 7pm

Buffet food and free drinks for the early birds.

14 November 2014

Next Branch meeting: 21 November at 7.30

At the Argyle Arms on Argyle Road, Brighton (The Engineer as was) at 7.30pm, 21 November 2014.

As well as the usual items for discussion, we also need to find a new Chair, as Adam Powley is resigning. If you wish to stand, please come along.

10 November 2014

Sports panel at Exeter Street Hall

Friday 14 November from 7.30pm.

Meet and quiz the best sports writing talent around. Got a burning question? We’ve got the people in the know.

With a Q&A format, we predict an entertaining evening packed with insight and anecdotes. You’ll have the chance to submit questions before the event and chat over drinks. Details will be available soon. Check our website, Facebook page, Twitter feed and look out for posters in the neighbourhood. Book online super-fast – this event will sell out.

Here’s the team sheet: Nick Szczepanik, football reporter for The Independent on Sunday, will chair a panel including:
  • Paul Hayward, multi award-winning chief sports writer of the Daily Telegraph 
  • Lynne Truss, former sports feature writer with the Times and author of Get Her Off The Pitch 
  • Peter Nichols, writer who has covered ten Olympic Games for the Guardian, Times and Daily Telegraph
  • Mick Cleary, rugby correspondent of the Daily Telegraph and 
  • Paul Weaver, Formula One correspondent of The Guardian and co-author of Flight of the Martlets: the Golden Age of Sussex Cricket
The Sports Panel is generously sponsored by John Hoole

For tickets, click here.


27 October 2014

TUC march 18 October 2014

Branch member Ollie Wilson has posted a blog containing lots of photos of the TUC's Britain Needs a Pay Rise March through central London on 18 October 2014 - and the train the Trades Council hired to get us up there:

http://oliverspoetrygarret.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/the-red-train.html

02 October 2014

Britain needs a pay rise: TUC demo 18 October

There's a TUC march and rally in London on 18 October, which the branch is supporting:
http://britainneedsapayrise.org/

The Brighton Trades Council is organising a train to encourage people to attend the TUC 'Britain needs a pay rise' demonstration in central London on the 18 October.

We expect to leave Brighton station at 8:30am and return from Victoria at 5pm. The Journey will be longer than normal as the direct line is closed to all trains that weekend.

We have block-booked 10 seats on the trades council train that's going up, so ask anyone who wants to go to contact Phil at philmellows@btinternet.com and the first 10 NUJ members can have a free trip. Non-NUJ members can pay for a seat via this Eventbrite page (which includes details on times etc):

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/brighton-train-to-tuc-britain-needs-a-pay-rise-demo-tickets-13289634655

01 September 2014

NUJ and Centre for Investigative Journalism – free training

Introduction to privacy and information security: concepts and tools

Wednesday 17 September 2014 18.30 until 20.30


Where

NUJ Headland House, 308-312 Gray’s Inn Road, London

Details

This free workshop for NUJ members will give attendees an overview of the range of threats from public and private organisations and the various measures to deal with them.

The trainer will look at what tools to use (and not use) under certain conditions and how to defeat state-level attacks against your communications on a shoestring budget.

While many of the threats to electronic communications have been discussed for decades, the revelations made by Edward Snowden last year have shown us the scope and scale of the intrusion on our basic rights as humans and journalists.

As a journalist you need to be able to protect your sources, yourself and your story (in that order). This means securing both content and meta-data relating to any communications you have with them by electronic or other means. In the future the ability of a journalist to effectively do this could determine if sources come to them or not.

Glen Greenwald was almost passed over for the scoop of a lifetime because he did not have encrypted email on his laptop at the time Snowden was trying to contact him.

After the introduction to basic theory and time for a Q&A, the various tools that can be used will be discussed. This discussion will include tools to browse anonymously, chat and mail with encryption and prevent data-loss from theft/confiscation of laptops and storage media (the TOR-browser, Truecrypt, GPG mailcrypto etc).

A slightly more advanced practical workshop will be held in the future - if you are interested in the hands-on infosec labs please email minal@tcij.org

The NUJ and the Centre for Investigative Journalism have co-organised this free event for NUJ members.

The event is primarily directed towards journalists, NGO workers and activists.

To register please email: sarahk@nuj.org.uk with the number of places and names for the booking.

This event will be held subject to a minimum number of registrations and will be confirmed by Friday 12 September.

The Trainer

Arjen Kamphuis is co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Gendo. He studied science and policy at Utrecht University and worked for IBM and Twynstra Gudde as IT architect, trainer and IT strategy advisor. Since late 2001 Arjen is working independently and advises clients on the strategic impact of new technological developments.

New handbook available

Information Security for Journalists
By Silkie Carlo and Arjen Kamphuis

This handbook is a very important practical tool for journalists and it is of particular importance to investigative reporters. For the first time journalists are now aware that virtually every electronic communication we make or receive is being recorded, stored and subject to analysis and action. As this surveillance is being conducted in secret, without scrutiny, transparency or any realistic form of accountability, our sources, our stories and our professional work itself is under threat.

After Snowden’s disclosures we know that there are real safeguards and real counter measures available. The CIJ’s latest handbook, Information Security for Journalists, lays out the most effective means of keeping your work private and safe from spying. It explains how to write safely, how to think about security and how to safely receive, store and send information that a government or powerful corporation may be keen for you not to know, to have or to share. To ensure your privacy and the safety of your sources, Information Security for Journalists will help you to make your communications indecipherable, untraceable and anonymous.

For more information, please visit the CIJ's website.

Event details on the NUJ website, please share with colleagues and NUJ members: http://www.nuj.org.uk/events/introduction-to-privacy-and-information-security-concepts-and/

15 July 2014

Next branch meeting: 4 August

Save the date

Venue and agenda to follow.

Support striking teachers
It is now confirmed that the strike of NUT members at Hove Park School will close the school on Wednesday. Teachers are opposing proposals to convert the school to an academy and parents, pupils and other campaign supporters are encouraged to show their support of teachers by joining with the pickets.

Both school sites will be picketed – Nevill Road and Valley Campus on Hangleton Way. Teachers will be at the gates from 7am.

Messages of support emailed to handsoffhoveparksch@gmail.com will be forwarded to the teachers taking action.

Please let the school know that parents support this action by emailing:

Head@hovepark.org.uk

governors@hovepark.org.uk

Wednesday is results day
Results of both the council’s ballot of parents and the parent governor elections will also be on Wednesday. 

07 July 2014

Strike Day - Thursday 10 July

This Thursday 10 July an estimated 1.5 million public sector workers across the country will be out on strike for a decent pay rise. Council workers in the Unison, GMB and Unite unions will be joined by the firefighters of the FBU, the teachers of the NUT and civil servants in the PCS.

You can show your support for workers taking on a government that's attacking us all by joining the marches and rally that will be taking place in Brighton on the day:

10.30am - Marches from Hove Town and Hollingdean Road bin depot

Midday - Rally on The Level

Look out for the NUJ banner!

There will be picket lines from about 7am at Brighton Town Hall (Black Lion St), Hove Town Hall, the bin depot in Hollingdean Road, the fire station at Preston Circus - take your pick!