2016 Year in Review

All in all, it was a very busy year at NWU and we’re better off for it. The elections aside, we still have many challenges ahead, the main one being how to grow, be more active, and better serve our members while, at the same time, cutting back on spending. This is a perpetual riddle […]

Freelance Isn’t Free Becomes Law in NYC!

On October 27, the NY City Council passed the landmark Freelance Isn’t Free bill into law. With a vote of 51-0, the City Council made New York City the first in the U.S. to make non-payment to freelancers and independent contract workers a crime. NWU is a cosponsor of the bill and well aware of […]

NWU Statement on the Firing of Maria Pallante

On Friday, October 21, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden summarily removed Maria Pallante as Register of Copyright and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office, the position she had held since 2011. It was the first time the head of the Copyright Office had been removed in 119 years!  Ms. Pallante was reassigned as an advisor […]

We Stand With The Arizona Republic

When I was growing up in Arizona, it was rare to see my home state hit the national news. One of the first times I saw it happen was in the Summer of 1976, when Don Bolles, a reporter for the Arizona Republic, was killed by a bomb planted in his car. He was killed […]

Anti-Muslim Profiling Near Trump Tower

At the New York City Labor Day Parade on September 10, one of our members, Ekim Kilic, a young Turkish national, approached someone who appeared to him to be a Union Marshal, and asked where he could find the National Writers Union group. The person told Ekim that the UAW/NWU contingent had already passed. The […]

NWU Presence at Michigan, St. Louis Conferences

In late August, I attended the UAW Luca Communications Conference (left) in upstate Michigan. I took a Video Across Platforms class and made this video that pays tribute to UAW founder Walter Reuther and the spirit of union members coming together in support of workers rights to a living wage, benefits, etc. I imagine there […]

Lit Crawl-San Francisco to Feature NorCal Writers

On Saturday, October 15, the NWU Northern California chapter will curate a session at Lit Crawl-San Francisco called, National Writers Union Takes On Social Justice, featuring readings by NWU members Lizette Wanzer, Henry Millstein, Sarah E. Kornfeld, and September Williams. One of the most anticipated literary nights of the year, Lit Crawl-SF attracts 10,000 people annually. We aim to […]

NWU, Allies Educate Copyright Office on E-books

In our latest formal submission to the US Copyright Office on August 18th, the NWU and two other writers’ organizations provided an overview of the “new normal”  for writers seeking to earn a living in the digital age. We also discussed how copyright policies designed for publisher-centric  business models and old media serve to deprive […]

Writer Alert: Heart and Soul Magazine

Heart & Soul continues to cheat its former writers, some of whom remain unpaid for years. Since the Writer Alert posted in April 2013 reporting that H&S had yielded to pressure from the NWU and the UAW  and had started reimbursing writers in installments, three more NWU members have come to the union for help. Together […]

So Cal Chapter Celebrates Latinex

At the recent So Cal chapter meeting, about 25 people gathered in member David Trujillo’s lovely Los Angeles backyard with its fruitful orange tree and bubbling Buddha fountain. National Writers Union members present included Trujillo, Ismael Parra, September Williams (No Cal), Dan McCrory, Eric Gordon, Elle Febbo, Marilyn Grunwald and myself. Everyone was encouraged to […]