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 […]

Delegate Assembly 2018 Gains Momentum!

NWU Delegate Assembly – August 10-12, 2018 UAW Region 9A NYC HQ 256 W. 38 St.  12th floor  (between 7th and 8th Aves.) The 2018 Delegate Assembly, August 10-12, is happening at a pivotal point. It’s a period of chaos and uncertainty that affects our union, our industry, and all working people. So far, this […]

NWU in Spain for Gender Conference

Around the world, gender-based violence, pay inequity, and a lack of diversity in newsroom management are pressing matters. In late May, about 30 journalists gathered at a Gender Conference in Santander, Spain, to explore what must be done. Sponsored by the International Federation of Journalists, we met in the Magdalena Palace— originally built for Spanish […]

NWU to Partner with VLA NY

NWU is partnering with Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts NY. This is a new member benefit that our members will have access to in navigating the difficult world of building a freelance writing career.  NWU became a non-profit institutional member of VLA and the first fruit of this new relationship is that VLA will represent […]

Remembering Carolyn Jacobson

Carolyn Jacobson, who successfully pressed the AFL-CIO into action on behalf of women in and out of unions, died in March at the age of 67. A 15-year member of NWU’s DC chapter, she lost a two-year battle to endometrial cancer on March 23. Ironically, greater attention to women’s health was one of the causes […]

NWU at Los Angeles March for Our Lives

So Cal members of the National Writers Union (NWU), along with an estimated 80,000 more, attended the youth-led March For Our Lives rally in downtown Los Angeles on March 23.  In other areas of the country and around the world, millions of supporters turned out, including more than 800,000 at the march’s ground zero in […]

So Cal Meets Up

The SoCal Chapter met Sat., Feb. 24 at the Workmen’s Circle in Los Angeles. Five members plus one prospective member attended—five women and one man. We began with a live video interview with NWU President Larry Goldbetter, who spoke about various non-payment grievances (NPGs) in progress. He spoke in particular of a forthcoming agreement with Ebony for $80,000 worth […]

Ramsey’s Latest Play Staged

NWU member Calvin Ramsey staged a reading of his latest play Damaged Virtues, November 28 at Harlem’s National Black Theater.  Based on a true story about J. Marion Sims, a 19th-century physician, the drama explored the doctor’s sadistic penchant for performing experimental gynecological surgery on enslaved women. Despite the pain and suffering he visited upon them, […]

Ebony Freelancers and NWU Get to Know Each Other

On November 1, lawyers for NWU and the Ebony Media Organization finally met in a Cook County courtroom. At issue is the $80,000 owed to the 48 freelancers who are being represented by their union. The following night, about a dozen Ebony freelancers and some NWU reps met and got to know each other at […]

Canada Lawsuit Could Affect You

Writers whose work might have been used by Canadian universities should be aware of a Monday, October 16, deadline. If you think you may be affected, that’s the date by which you would need to opt out if you’d prefer not to be included in a particular class of the suit. More background on the […]