Enforcing our rights to our web content shouldn’t be this hard

Today the National Writers Union (NWU) was joined by the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) and the National Association of Science Writers (NASW) in comments filed with the U.S. Copyright Office on a proposed rule for “Group Registration of Updates to a News Website”. In its current rulemaking, the Copyright Office — after consulting news […]

Freelance Isn’t Free is Coming to LA!

Los Angeles, June 28 – Yesterday the City Council Committee on Economic Development and Jobs voted unanimously to have the City Attorney draft an ordinance to make Freelance Isn’t Free the law in LA. The new law will  take effect on July 1, 2023, giving the City time to fund staff and enforcement mechanisms, and will coincide with […]

We Won! Freelance Isn’t Free Passes in NYS!

On Friday, June 3, the “Freelance Isn’t Free” bill sponsored by Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assemblymember Harry Bronson passed both the Senate and the Assembly. The bill will move to the Governor’s desk, where it will await her signature to be signed into New York State law.  Thousands of freelancers—both those living in New York, […]

Freelance Isn’t Free Is Coming to New York State

The National Writers’ Union and the Freelance Solidarity Project (NWU’s Digital Media Division), are working to get a statewide version of the Freelance Isn’t Free Act passed in the New York State legislature this year. The bill, which is being co-sponsored by New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes (Democrat – District 22, in Brooklyn) and […]

New York City Sues French Fashion Media Company L’Officiel USA for Failing to Pay NYC Freelancers

December 1, 2021 NEW YORK—Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today that the City ’s Law Department and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) have filed a lawsuit against L ’Officiel USA, the American subsidiary of the French-owned global media company that operates several print and digital magazines about fashion, beauty, music, film, literature, […]

Afghan Women Need Your Help

On November 17, the Women’s Committee and International Committee of NWU held an online screening of Afghan Women: A History of Struggle. As the Taliban took control of Afghanistan last summer, more than 140 media outlets closed or were forcibly turned over to Taliban control. Many staff have fled. The director of the Afghanistan media and information center was […]

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 […]

A Year of Living Dangerously

In many ways, the past year has been a test for all of us and for our union. May 25 marked the one-year anniversary of the police killing of George Floyd and the anti-racist uprising that followed. The past year also featured the US Presidential election and the fascist storming of the US Capitol. It […]

Journalists Say No to SB 98 Amendment Requiring Police Permission to Cover Protests

We, the undersigned organizations, which collectively represent thousands of California journalists, strongly oppose a recent amendment made to SB 98, a bill originally intended to protect journalists covering protests, demonstrations and civil unrest. This amendment may actually restrict existing press freedoms rather than expand them, turning this bill on its head and into something that […]