Updates on Non-Payment Grievances

Consumers Digest: On June 2, a judge finally granted our Motion for Default Judgment after Consumers Digest failed to obtain new counsel to Appear on its behalf.  This case has dragged on for almost two years as deadbeat publisher Randy Weber seeks to avoid paying our 17 freelancers the $65,000 he owes them. Another hearing […]

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Trump, Covid, Poverty and Racist Terror

The cold-blooded racist murders of Ahmaud Arbery while jogging near Brunswick, GA, Breonna Taylor while asleep in her bed in Louisville, KY, and George Floyd while in police custody and handcuffed in Minneapolis, MN, have set off a firestorm across the US and around the world. The fearless unity of people across race, age, gender, […]

Publishers Sue the Internet Archive for Scanning Books

On June 1, four major US commercial publishers sued the Internet Archive for “willful mass infringement” of copyrights by scanning books and distributing copies on the OpenLibrary.org and Archive.org websites, without any permission from, or payment to, the publishers or authors of the works included in those books.

NWU y UAW: La misma lucha, 2 caminos distintos

(Este anuncio se envía simultáneamente a los miembros de NWU y a todas las Sindicatos asociados de la Región 9A de UAW). El 30 de abril de 2020, el presidente del Sindicato Nacional de Escritores UAW Local 1981 (NWU), Larry Goldbetter, en nombre del consejo Ejecutivo de la NWU y sus miembros, solicitó al consejo […]

Coronavirus Relief for Writers

Every working person has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak. As freelance writers and authors, we’ve seen gigs fall through, projects put on hold, and book tours canceled as the world does all it can to stop the spread. If we fall ill, we have no employee benefits to help us cover that lost […]

CARES Act Pandemic Unemployment Assistance for Freelancers

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) is an  act that makes independent contractors/self-employed individuals eligible for up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits under some circumstances, through December 31, 2020. The PUA program will be in effect as of January 27, 2020, and workers will be eligible for retroactive benefits. Eligibility for Benefits […]

What Writers Should Know About AB5

On January 22, NWU and the Authors Guild held a panel on “What Writers Should Know About AB5 and Similar Laws to End Misclassification.” The speakers were Authors Guild Executive Director Mary Rasenberger, Staff Attorney of the Employment Unit of the Legal Aid Society, Richard Blum, and NWU President Larry Goldbetter. You can see the […]

Freelance Solidarity Project Update

This fall, the Freelance Solidarity Project elected its first ever organizing committee, made up of 12 members who will spend the next year helping digital media freelancers organize and fight for better working conditions. Last Friday, the committee hosted its first happy hour, welcoming members and non-members alike to the midtown bar Faces and Names […]

House of Representatives Passes Copyright Small Claims Bill

On October 22, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the “Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019” (CASE Act), H.R. 2426, by a vote of 410 to 6: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2426 The NWU along with many creators’ groups and the member organizations of the Authors Coalition of America  endorsed the CASE Act. The NWU submitted detailed […]