Fitzpatrick, who joined the union in 2002 after years working with print unions, said he was 'extremely proud' of the appointment and called on employers to be 'more positive' in dealings with the union
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Barry Fitzpatrick, head of publishing at the National Union of Journalists, has been named as the union's new deputy general secretary.
Fitzpatrick has worked for the NUJ for 10 years, the past five as head of publishing and before that as organiser for national newspapers. Before joining the NUJ he was an official with various print unions, and was with Sogat at the time of its Wapping dispute with News International.
He won 57 per cent of the members vote for the appointment. Turnout was 14.8 per cent, with 4,243 votes cast from 29,190 eligible members.
The ballot had to be rerun last year after an error with the union's membership data meant that a large number of ineligible members were included in the ballot.
Fitzpatrick told Journalism.co.uk he was "extremely proud and pleased to have won, and with as convincing a result as in the first round of the ballot".
Acknowledging that journalism was facing a "crisis", he also called on employers to be less antagonistic with the union.
"I believe that the challenges we face as a union and an industry require the dedication of all staff, all of our officials and our lay activists and members. And I believe that unless we do that together we are not going to come through this crisis in a form that will ensure the future of the industry itself and the union.
"We have a lot of problems to deal with, not just the quality of content but the meltdown of revenue. We need employers to be more positive in their interactions with the union and not just confrontational with cuts and antagonistic in their responses to our efforts to work with them."
In a statement , General secretary Michelle Stanistreet congratulated Fitzpatrick on the appointment, calling him "widely known and respected across the media industries" and "a determined champion of journalists and journalism".
"His previous career as a leading print union official and activist means he has plenty of experience and the ability to work with all our colleagues in the media in defence of jobs, conditions and ethical standards," she added.
