The State of Our Union

State of the Union: NWU is doing well, with many weaknesses and limited capacity. As of this writing we have just over 1,000 current members, which fluctuates up to 1200. We are holding our own, numbers wise, but we are growing stronger internally, which is the key, and the prerequisite for growing. Today, the union […]

Senator Scott Wiener announces CA Senate Bill 988, the Freelance Worker Protection Act

Senator Wiener Introduces Bill to Expand Freelance Worker Protections SACRAMENTO – January 31, 2024 — Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced Senate Bill 988 (SB 988), the Freelance Worker Protection Act. SB 988 provides basic protections — enforced by the State Labor Commissioner and the Attorney General — for freelance workers, including the right […]

Imparcialidad Periodística en el Conflicto Palestino-Israelí

Desde los injustificables ataques de Hamás contra civiles israelíes, el ejército israelí ha matado a más de mil cuatrocientas personas en Gaza, donde además ha cortado los alimentos, el agua y la electricidad a más de dos millones de personas. En el momento de escribir este artículo, se está efectuando una limpieza étnica masiva. Israel […]

Freelance Isn’t Free Passes in L.A.

The Los Angeles City Council has passed a city-wide version of Freelance Isn’t Free, which will enact some much-needed basic protections for freelancers in the city. The city’s iteration of the law is comparatively limited, applying only to freelancers who live in the city of Los Angeles proper. However, we are confident that the LA Freelance Isn’t Free […]

Freelance Isn’t Free Slowly Moves Forward

After the New York state legislature passed Freelance Isn’t Free in June, elected officials nationwide—and NWU’s legislative work—took a summer break. Now, heading into fall and 2023, we have several legislative campaigns going across the country, and plenty of opportunities to get involved. In New York, we’re still waiting for Governor Kathy Hochul to sign […]

Behind the Scenes with Playwright David Trujillo

NWU Member David Trujillo is on the eve of debuting his latest play, Legacy of a Garage Band. Here he talks about the story, themes and preparation to open his show in Long Beach, CA, mid-February. The deeper and more complex themes of my new play have to do with the opioid crisis and mental […]

SoCal Chapter Report to the 2021 Delegate Assembly

Our chapter has grown; even if slowly.  After NWU elections in spring of 2021 we took on the challenge to build a working group/activist type.  We needed a type of buy in so that people felt they were a bigger part of the union than just a member.  Because at the national level we only […]

California’s Freelance Isn’t Free Bill

At a September 12, 2021, meeting of the SoCal NWU chapter, Jeff Jacobberger, who is the Legislative Director from the office of Bob Blumenfield, the L.A. City Council Member for the 3rd district.  He talked about the Freelance Isn’t Free Motion introduced in the L.A.City Council in early 2021; in August of this year it […]

Picketing Against Proposed School on Questionable Land

In the city of Cudahy, California—in southeast L.A. County—members of the SoCal Chapter of the National Writers Union joined picketing parents, students, residents, teachers, union leaders and activists. The group stood on a public sidewalk near a large empty lot that is said to be contaminated land. The protestors are concerned that the site will […]

Documentary on the 1976 Downing of a Cuban Plane

In October 1976, a Cuban plane took off from Barbados to Jamaica. In a blip, Flight 455 disappeared from radar screens. Various aviation agencies, including the Cuban government, determined that two bombs hidden on the plane caused it to explode midair, the wreckage  plummeting into the Caribbean Sea.  All 73 people aboard were killed in […]