President’s Report to the 2018 Delegate Assembly

Membership As of this writing, we have 1038 members, more or less where we have been for some time. One interesting aspect of our union, which accepts everyone who applies, that we hundreds of new members join every year, and when things don’t work out for whatever reason, hundreds leave as well. There is tremendous […]

Report to the NWU Delegate Assembly on International Activities, 2015-2018

The market for writing is global, as is the need for solidarity of working writers. Writers from around the world compete for jobs and freelance assignments with publishers around the world. We market and distribute our writing to, and earn revenues from, readers around the world, indirectly (through publishers and licensing agreements) and directly (as self-publishers, especially in […]

NWU Women’s Committee Report to the Delegate Assembly, August 2018

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reports that at least 1 in every 2 journalists have suffered sexual harassment, psychological abuse, online trolling and other forms of human rights abuses. IFJ Gender Counsel director Mindy Ran writes that “we mourn the loss
of six of our sisters in 2015, from France, the Philippines, Somalia,
South Sudan and […]

Solidarity Greetings from NATIONAL UNION JOURNALISTS (NUJ)

NU.I NATIONAL UNION of JOURNALISTS 23rd July 2018 Fraternal greeting from the Irish Executive Council of the National Union of Journalists, UK & Ireland. On behalf of members of the NUJ in the Republic and Northern Ireland may I extend best wishes as you gather for your Delegate Assembly in New York. You meet at a […]

International Greetings from NUSOJ

MESSAGE OF SOLIDARITY FROM THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF NATIONAL UNION OF SOMALI JOURNALISTS (NUSOJ) MR. OMAR FARUK OSMAN TO THE DELEGATE ASSEMBLY OF NATIONAL WRITERS UNIONS (NWU) IN NEW YORK CITY, USA, ON AUGUST 10-12, 2018 On behalf of the Executive Committee of the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) and the entire journalism fraternity […]

NWU Virginia Chapter Members Running for Office

Two members of the Virginia/DC/MD chapter are running for office in Northern Virginia, raising the visibility of our union, and promoting the labor movement’s values and ideals. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (in the photo with chapter chair Ginny Diamond) was one of the winners of the Democratic primary election for Alexandria City Council, and will be on […]

Beyond Ebonyowes

The unfortunate circumstances around EBONYOWES are no secret: Loss of income. Possibly fractured relationships with editors, and second-guessing by some about our decision to take legal action against a beloved American institution. However, the experience forced me out of my comfort zone. After I stopped writing for EBONY, I began to pitch larger publications and […]

Get to Know Us

More than 40 people joined the NWU to get grievance assistance or contract advice during the first six months of 2018. And roughly half of all members who request service—not counting group grievances—are new members. If you’re one of them, welcome to the National Writers Union!  If you joined to pursue a grievance, you may […]

Free Manuel Duran Ortega Now!

Manuel Duran Ortega is a well-known and respected journalist in Memphis, TN, who once helmed a TV station in El Salvador. After his life was threatened there more than a decade ago, he came to the US as an undocumented immigrant. Duran was arrested by Memphis police April 3, while covering a local immigration rights protest, which […]

A Spear in Our Side: When Police Charge Victims

After DeAndre Harris was brutally beaten by white nationalists in Charlottesville, VA, last summer, police charged the 20-year-old black man with assaulting the nationalists. Eventually he was acquitted, but this has become a pattern: Law enforcement underreporting hate crimes in America, while tacitly colluding with perpetuators by charging the victims. The impact is that those who would […]