New York City – February 29: “The company closed, the owners took the furniture and equipment out of the office and disappeared. There was no bankruptcy, no one was notified—they simply closed…Freelancers got nothing! The total loss to 40 workers exceeds $300,000. I was owed more than $20,000.” That was a part of NWU VP […]
NWU VPs Testimony to the NY City Council
Mauricio Niebla Thank you for the opportunity to speak today about my experience as a freelancer.My name is Mauricio Niebla, I’m a writer, and as most writers, I am a freelancer. I have been a freelancer my entire professional life, for almost 30 years. I have been unpaid for jobs many times, but the most […]
NWU Statement on the Freelance Isn’t Free Act
The National Writers Union/ UAW Local 1981, supports the Freelancers Union’s Freelance Isn’t Free Act, and we urge the New York City Council to make it law. Our members, who are writers in all genres, in all media and on all platforms, are no strangers to nonpayment. We know how hard it can be to […]
Accountant Shares Tips at ‘Taxes for Writers’ Event
Therese Francis, PhD, an NWU member from New Mexico, led an informative and timely session, Taxes for Writers, on January 7 in San Francisco. NWU’s Northern California Chapter and the Mechanics’ Institute Library and Chess Room co-sponsored the workshop. A writer, publisher and accountant, Francis kicked off the current tax season with the lunchtime event […]
Reading and Feeding Writers
“You’re here to help get writers read, the NWU’s here to help get writers fed.”~ NWU member September Williams Hundreds of writers, editors, and publishers met in the city for the 13th annual San Francisco Writers Conference, February 11-15. New and established writers attended workshops with well-known authors, learned about publishing options, speed-dated with agents, […]
SOME THEFT IS LEGAL
Members have told us that they’ve pitched an idea for an article, and a similar article turned up under someone else’s name. They say they wrote books about teenage vampires or nerdy supervillains, and then watched other people make millions from their plot lines. They think that copyright law should protect them. In most cases, […]
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
OUR DIGITAL OUTREACH PROJECT In 2013, we identified improving internal and external digital communication as our greatest strategic need, and followed up by launching a 2-year project to upgrade our website and database. In that spirit, I’m proposing a Digital Outreach Project that will be conducted mainly through Twitter and Facebook, helping us to draw […]
Are You Covered? Healthcare Deadline is Jan. 31
For writers, finding and keeping health coverage can be a challenge. The NWU has partnered with Working America Health Care (WAHC), a collaboration of Working America and Union Plus, which are, respectively, the community affiliate and consumer benefits arm of the AFL-CIO. Visit the Working America/NWU website today to better understand your coverage options before, […]
We Are One: Celebrating Workers Stories
Labor activists and leaders joined rank and file workers recently to celebrate the release of a beautiful book of photos and oral histories featuring American union members. Actor and activist Danny Glover; former UAW President Bob King, NYS Commissioner of Labor Roberta Reardon; UAW Division 9A Director Julie Kushner; and PSC/CUNY Welfare Fund’s Larry Morgan […]
President’s Report ~ December 2015
2015 In Review We may look back on 2015 as a watershed year for the NWU: We made difficult decisions and long-needed changes that could give our union a new lease on life. For example, this year the national office cut expenses by more than $60,000, while our delegates approved a modest dues increase for […]
