Video documents strike day

We now have a short video explaining why we are striking alongside footage of the first day on the picket line:

Ex-boss backs strikers

It's not only trade unionists and fellow workers who showed support for us - the bosses have too, or at least one former boss in particular.

Dave Nicholson, once editor of what was then the Yorkshire Evening Press (since cut back to The Press by Newsquest) visited the strikers' line today to wish us well. The stories I have heard of Dave's time at the helm was that he was a decent man who cared about his staff, although of course their pay was still poor even then. But he at least recognised that. Today, he dropped by with two bags full of Thornton's chocolate goodies for all the strikers. Dave, we salute you.

£3k to fight for fair pay

Our strike fund goes from strength to strength. On the eve of the strike the total broke through the £2,000 mark. Now - after only one day's action - we are headed towards £3,000. Some of the superb donations we received today included:

• £300 from the Oxford branch
• £100 from the South Yorkshire NUJ Branch and Rotherham Advertiser
• £50 from a much-missed former colleague
• £50 from the Mother of Chapel at Coventry Newspapers
• £75 from our NUJ organiser
• £50 from the Doncaster Free Press Chapel

We also had a pledge of a donation from Bradford Telegraph & Argus NUJ Chapel and members of the public threw about £50 into our collection bucket.

That takes us to a grand total of £2,725 - simply unbelievable. Please everyone, keep the donations coming. Thank you to all who have shown such wonderful solidarity.

Councillors speak out

With today being the date of City of York Council's annual meeting - and the handover for the Lord Mayor of York - there were plenty of local politicians in town. We were greatly encouraged when Labour group leader Coun David Scott and his colleague Coun James Alexander (pictured above with Fathers of Chapel Sam Southgate and Tony Kelly) visited our picket line to express their firm support for York journalists.

Later on, the Green Party group leader Coun Andy D'Agorne stopped by to offer his backing. Then, to complete a hat-trick of political groups, Coun Ceredig Jamieson-Ball, Liberal Democrat councillor for Heslington, visited the picket line and sent us this message of support:

"It is important that employees in York are able to earn similar rates of pay as other workers. It seems to me that Newsquest are trying to take advantage of York journalists. They should be offered the same rate as elsewhere."

While all this was going on, the Lord Mayor of York's limousine drove past our picket, with the civic party on board. The driver gave us a toot. We like the fact one of the new mayor Coun Brian Watson's first acts in office was supporting our strike. Good on you, Brian.

We offer all these councillors our sincere thanks for showing such solidarity.

Pizza for pickets

Picketing is hungry work. But we we've been replenished throughout the day by two friends of the union. One delivered a batch of 25 muffins and doughnuts for elevenses. Then a supporter in Newsquest York's advertising department brought us four pizzas donated by Dillons Bridge Fisheries, in Burton Stone Lane, in Clifton, York. There was further solidarity from fellow workers. One department brought out two boxes of Heroes chocolates, while another good friend in advertising supplies sausage rolls. Thank you all for the solidarity.

What the Dickens?!

While we are on the picket line battling for decent pay and conditions, we are keen to pay tribute to the trade unionists of yesteryear who made so much progress by fighting for working people.

We are particularly keen to honour those heroes who took part in the NUJ's first ever strike - at the York Herald in 1911 - over Dickensian conditions that saw them working 16 hours a day, seven days a week.

In this vein, four of our members borrowed Edwardian costumes from York Theatre Royal to press home the point that nearly 100 years later trade unions are still fighting on these issues.

Despite scorching temperatures, our four intrepid members trekked around the centre of York handing out fliers and talking to shoppers about our strike.

Pictured in front of York Minster, the four also gatecrashed the Lord Mayor's Procession (the city's ceremonial leader was handing over the baton today). The support from councillors there was massive, with many members of City of York Council and their staff backing our stand.

Multi-media is working for us

The strike has enjoyed tremendous coverage on Radio and TV today. Pre-recorded interviews with Minster FM and BBC Radio York have been running throughout the day on the stations' news bulletins.

Both Calendar - ITV's news proggrame for Yorkshire - and the BBC's Look North visited the picket line today to capture footage of the strikers and record interview with chapel members. We were featured on both programmes' lunchtime news slots. Management declined to speak to either station so it was left to us to put across our view. So much the better.

We're thrilled with the coverage, especially given The Press's management's decision to virtually ignore the fact that about 25 of their staff are camped outside their office protesting at their deplorable pay. According to the weasel words on The Press's website, it is "business as usual". You could have fooled us, guys...

All out for fair pay

It has been a brilliant first morning of action at The Press and the Gazette & Herald's headquarters in Walmgate, York. More than 25 union members and supporters turned out on the first day of our five-day strike over pay.

We started early - at 7.30am - and we were early enough to wave our placards at management as they slunk into the car park. Later colleagues in the (non-unionised) advertising and circulation department expressed their support as they arrived at work.

The backing from members of the public was immense, with countless drivers responding to our "Honk for fair pay" placards. There was much interest in our stall - more than 1,000 people took leaflets before lunchtime - and our strike paper The Stress, which covered the dispute in depth, was also popular on the picket line.

Colleagues from York Unison came and joined the picket line early on and at lunchtime, while the postal workers in the CWU gave us their backing. Messages of support have also been flooding in by text to the picket line. Thank you to everyone who is supporting us. We've had solidarity greetings from:

• Brent Trades Council
• The Guardian's media desk
• Irish NUJ members
• Manchester Mental Health Branch Unison
• NUJ members at Northcliffe in Bristol
• British Association of Occupational Therapists members in Manchester
• Manchester trade unionist Karen Reismann
• NUJ East Yorkshire Branch
• Kyran Connolly, NUJ National Executive Committee member for books
• NUJ South Yorkshire Branch and the Rotherham Advertiser Chapel
• NUJ Newsquest Bradford Chapel
• NUJ Newsquest Darlington Chapel
• NUJ BBC Lonndon Branch
• NUJ Book Branch members
• NUJ members at Minster FM
• Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ National Executive Committee member for newspapers and Mother of Chapel at Express Newspapers
• Members of the PCS union
• NUJ Coventry Newspapers Chapel
• NUJ Sheffield Newspapers Chapel
• NUJ London Press and PR Branch
• NUJ News Shopper Chapel
• Ian Allinson, Unite executive council member
• Miles Barter, NUJ Manchester Branch
• NUJ Scottish office
• Kate Carr, NUJ BBC and Wales Council
• Jeremy Dear, NUJ general secretary
• LexisNexis NUJ negotiating team
• NUJ Scotland
• NUJ Evening Echo/Irish Examiner Chapel
• NUJ Bolton News and Bury Times Chapel
  
• and NUJ members in Cardiff, Manchester, York and Leeds

Edwardian strike over 'Dickensian conditions'

The 34 NUJ members at Newsquest York are today starting their first of five days of strike action about pay at the Press and Gazette & Herald newspapers. The strike is due to end just before midnight on Bank Holiday Monday.

The dispute comes nearly 100 years after the first NUJ strike in York in 1911, where members at the York Herald - now amalgamated into the weekly title - took action over Dickensian working conditions. The chapel will be wearing Edwardian costumes on the picket line to commemorate the previous struggle, which took eleven years to resolve!

Joint Father of Chapel, Sam Southgate, said: “NUJ members at Newsquest York often feel as if we are still working in Dickensian conditions, our pay is certainly something which is stuck in the past. Currently staff at The Press and Gazette & Herald are paid considerably less than the average wage in York of £30,000. Trainee journalists start on just £13,500 a year.

"Our members feel they have been pushed into taking this action by management's refusal to negotiate. We only hope that we don't have to wait eleven years to reach a settlement."

Members are particularly angry that management will not match pay-offers given to journalists at other Newsquest centres. The below-inflation pay-offer comes against a background of increased workloads, understaffing and attacks on members’ pensions.