National Writers Union (U.S.)

The National Writers Union (NWU) represents freelance writers throughout the United States. It was formed in 1981 during the Writers' Congress held in New York City. By the end of the year, the organization had more than 1000 dues-paying members and was actively organizing around the country. The Union convened annual delegates' assemblies, offered a low-cost health and dental insurance plan for freelancers, instituted a committee structure, and produced materials to assist their membership such ...

The National Writers Union (NWU) represents freelance writers throughout the United States. It was formed in 1981 during the Writers' Congress held in New York City. By the end of the year, the organization had more than 1000 dues-paying members and was actively organizing around the country. The Union convened annual delegates' assemblies, offered a low-cost health and dental insurance plan for freelancers, instituted a committee structure, and produced materials to assist their membership such as a model book contract, a survey of New England publications and a checklist of questions for writers to use when bidding on jobs. Most significantly, the Union began to win contracts with periodicals, such as Mother Jones, Columbia Journalism Review, In These Times, and Los Angeles Weekly . In 1981, the NWU affiliated with the United Auto Workers (UAW) as Local 1981. The NWU's fight for author retention of copyright in electronically published articles culminated in its victory in Tasini v. New York Times Co. in 2001. As of 2011, the NWU has over 1,500 members in fifteen locals.