The National Writers Union is an independent labor union representing freelance writers, editors, novelists, and other work-for-hire writers and editors. It represents between 1,000 to 1,300 members across the country but does not have formal collective bargaining agreements with any employers. ^{1 2}

The NWU was formerly affiliated with the United Auto Workers (UAW) as UAW Local 1981, but disaffiliated in 2020 after the UAW rejected the NWU’s freelancer compensation agreement with The Nation out of concern that it could potentially violate federal anti-trust laws. ^{3 4}

Overview

The National Writers Union grew out of a 1981 conference held by left-wing magazine The Nation at which author Toni Morrison called for “an accessible organization that is truly representative of the diverse interests of all writers.” ⁵ The union was formally chartered in 1983 under the United Auto Workers (UAW), and focused its early work on negotiating standard freelance writer contracts with largely left-leaning publications, advocating for First Amendment rights, and distributing useful materials for freelance writers such as draft standard contracts and freelance pay-rate guides. ⁵

The NWU also issues press passes for its freelance journalist members and has offered health insurance programs, although it now suggests members use the federal health insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act. ^{6 7}

The president of NWU is Larry Goldbetter, who has held that role since 2009. ⁵

The NWU claims more than 1,300 members in 12 chapters across the country, although in his January 2024 “State of Our Union” address, Goldbetter reported to union members that “we have just over 1,000 current members, which fluctuates up to 1,200.” ^{1 2}

Despite calling itself a union, the NWU does not function as a traditional labor union as its members are not actually employees who are authorized to negotiate formal collective bargaining agreements. ⁴ As Goldbetter explained to his members, “The challenge for us is that membership in NWU is open to all and totally voluntary. This means that members come and go at will and are not bound by collective bargaining agreements. It is theoretically possible for members to join today, vote next week, and leave the following month.” ⁴

The NWU takes a left-of-center, pro-labor-union stance on many issues, including membership in a coalition charging Israel with “war crimes” for its actions in the Gaza conflict. ⁸

UAW Disaffiliation

The National Writers Union was formally launched in 1983 under the United Auto Workers (UAW) banner and formally affiliated with the UAW in 1991 as National Writers Union UAW Local 1981. ⁵ According to the NWU, it was “free to run its own affairs, as long as membership grows and the NWU pursues campaigns relating to pay and rights.” ⁵

In 2020, the NWU disaffiliated from the United Auto Workers, after the UAW rejected an agreement setting freelancer pay scales that the NWU had reached with The Nation, with the UAW’s lawyers explaining that the agreement was a potential antitrust violation under the federal Sherman Act. ^{3 4} According to NWU President Larry Goldbetter, in 2017, a UAW representative had told NWU members: “Maybe the UAW doesn’t have anything for NWU.” ⁴

The NWU has attempted to find another union to affiliate with since leaving the UAW, including an unsuccessful effort to build a relationship with NewsGuild-CWA. ²

California Assembly Bill 5

In 2020, California’s legislature passed a collection of labor law changes authored by then-state Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), a former chief executive officer of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO, and the future executive secretary of the California Labor Federation. ^{9 10} The legislation, known commonly as “AB5,” was originally promoted as being designed to turn ridesharing drivers for companies such as Uber and Lyft from freelance contractors into employees of those companies, making it easier for labor unions to organize those workforces. ¹¹

The language of the bill was so broad that it would have turned freelance writers, photographers, editors, and other creative professionals, as well as a broad array of other workers such as owner-operator truck drivers, studio musicians, physicians, real estate agents, insurance brokers, private investigators, barbers, and many other traditional independent contractors into employees of the businesses with which they had contract relationships. ^{12 13}

Under lobbying pressure, many of these professions had “carve-outs” built into the law to protect their preexisting business models. ¹³ The National Writers Union lobbied for the creation of such a carve-out for freelance writers, then pushed to have the number of pieces a freelance writer could sell to a publication before incurring “employee” status increased from the original 20 to 50, before settling at the eventual limit of 35. ¹¹ At this point, NWU officially supported the legislation in the name of “labor solidarity” despite concerns from publishers and editors across the country that they could no longer hire a California-based writer to do something like a weekly column without making them a full employee of the company. ^{12 11}

However, other organizations representing the interests of freelance writers strongly opposed AB 5, even with the 35-article carve-out, and their concerns were vindicated when national media companies began announcing that they would no longer work with California-based freelancers because of AB 5’s provisions. ¹⁴ The American Society of Journalists and Authors and the National Press Photographers Association sued to overturn the law as a violation of their members’ First Amendment rights, but were not successful. ^{15 16}

1. “About the NWU.” NWU, March 20, 2023. https://nwu.org/about/.
2. Goldbetter, Larry. “The State of Our Union.” NWU, February 1, 2024. https://nwu.org/the-state-of-our-union/.
3. Goldbetter, Larry. “UAW and NWU: One Movement, Two Paths.” NWU, May 21, 2020. https://nwu.org/uaw-and-nwu-one-movement-two-paths/.
4. Goldbetter, Larry. “Report from the NWU Executive Board and Delegates Meeting on Separating from the UAW.” NWU, May 26, 2020. https://nwu.org/report-from-the-nwu-executive-board-and-delegates-meeting-on-separating-from-the-uaw/
5. “History and Achievements.” NWU, March 20, 2023. https://nwu.org/about/history-and-achievements.
6. “Freelance Press Pass.” NWU, March 20, 2023. https://nwu.org/member-benefits/press-pass/.
7. “Help with Health Insurance.” NWU, March 20, 2023. https://nwu.org/member-benefits/help-with-health-insurance/.
8. Kilic, Ekim. “NWU Joins International Press Organizations Charging Israel with War Crimes.” NWU, May 29, 2022. https://nwu.org/nwu-joins-international-press-organizations-charging-israel-with-war-crimes/.
9. Oncidi, Tony, Pietro Deserio, and Kate Gold. “California Amends Independent Contractor Law (Again) – New Exemptions for Music Industry Workers, Freelance Writers and Photographers.” California Employment Law Update, September 9, 2020. https://calemploymentlawupdate.proskauer.com/2020/09/california-amends-independent-contractor-law-again-new-exemptions-for-music-industry-workers-freelance-writers-and-photographers/.
10. Reyes, Jazmine. “Lorena Gonzalez Elected as Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the California Labor Federation.” California Labor Federation, July 27, 2022. https://calaborfed.org/lorena-gonzalez-elected-as-executive-secretary-treasurer-of-the-california-labor-federation/.
11. “‘Even More Headaches’: Publishers Brace for Fallout from California’s ‘Gig Worker’ Law.” Digiday, March 15, 2023. https://digiday.com/media/california-ab5/.
12. O’Farrell, Brigid, and Larry Goldbetter. “Why We’re Backing Ab-5.” NWU, October 3, 2019. https://nwu.org/ab-5-freelancers-and-misclassification-of-employees/.
13. Stephen Fishman, J.D. · USC Gould School of Law. “Exempt Job Categories under California’s AB5 Law.” www.nolo.com, June 20, 2023. https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/exempt-job-categories-under-californias-new-ab5-law.html.
14.  “California Freelance Journalists Sue over New State Law AB5.” CBS News, December 17, 2019. https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/ab5-california-freelance-journalists-lawsuit/.
15. “American Society of Journalists and Authors v. Bonta.” Pacific Legal Foundation, December 20, 2023. https://pacificlegal.org/case/american-society-of-journalists-and-authors-v-becerra/.
16. Hussain, Suhauna. “Freelance Journalists File Suit Alleging AB5 Is Unconstitutional.” Los Angeles Times, December 18, 2019. https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-12-17/freelance-journalist-ab5-lawsuit.