@nwu.org
The National Writers Union fights for all freelance writers & media workers in the digital age. Media contact: [email protected]
@alexzucker.bsky.socialReposted by @nwu.orgđź’Ą A Radical Proposal: Literary Translations as Workers
Brought to you by the Literary Translators Division of @nwu.org ✊
With @jeremytiang.bsky.social @kirajosefsson.bsky.social @soleildahveed.bsky.social @francesriddle.bsky.social
@objectivejournos.bsky.socialReposted by @nwu.orgTwenty-six years ago, the @nwu.org advocated for a $1/word pay rate. But if that $1/word rate from 2000 matched today’s inflation, the average writer should be making about $2/word.
According to @fspnwu.bsky.social data, they aren’t. objectivejournalism.org/2026/09/free...
@nwu.org“Since 2020, the average reported pay rate has hovered around $1/word, and stagnant wages mean that freelance writers are functionally making less money now than they were 26 years ago.” So what do we do? We organize.
@theflytrapmedia.comReposted by @nwu.orgRunning The Flytrap is expensive. There are a lot of technical things we need, like a distribution platform, and grownups, like our tax guy, and it's important to us to pay industry-standard rates to freelancers. So much so that we committed to doing that with the @nwu.org
@alexzucker.bsky.socialReposted by @nwu.orgđź”” The National Writers Union @nwu.org has a new website and here is the new page for the Literary Translators Division, describing our current organizing! nwu.org/divisions/li...
With the formation of the LTD, literary translators are part of a labor union for the first time in US history ✊
@nwu.orgWe're just $200 shy of our goal of raising $4,000 for our Palestinian colleagues. Will you help us get there?
Donate here ➡️ givebutter.com/palestinian-...
@nwu.orgThis year marks 45 years of NWU fighting for the rights of creative workers. Are you a creative worker who is tired of exploitation, stolen wages, and work insecurity? Let’s fight back together! Join NWU today: nwu.org/join
@msbeckylittle.bsky.socialReposted by @nwu.org@nwu.org has advice about this in our Anthropic settlement explainer by @edwardhasbrouck.bsky.social: nwu.org/anthropic/
@nwu.orgIsrael has killed more than 240 Palestinian journalists since the genocide began, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate. Join us tonight at Starr Bar in Brooklyn to support our colleagues who are still under attack. If you can't make it, you can still donate: bit.ly/Raffle4PJS
@mattdpearce.comReposted by @nwu.orgThis is what I’ve been up to at work — $200m for local news jobs over five years if Gov. Newsom signs AB 2222, fully paid for by taking away corporate tax breaks for overpaid CEOs.
www.rebuildlocalnews.org/california-l...
@nwu.orgLast week we lost Barbara Mende, one of NWU’s most steadfast advocates & long-time members. A fierce champion of writers as workers, she spent decades helping members avoid deleterious contracts, & made sure we got paid what we deserved. We'll miss her terribly. nwu.org/barbara-mend...
@nwu.orgIt's not a good day for the NYT. In addition to @transnews.network's call for a public boycott for their role in enabling trans genocide, we're calling them out for ripping off one of our member's stories and failing to credit her, a situation all too common for freelancers. @kaytiburt.bsky.social
@nwu.org“While New York is the first state to recognize that AI cannot do the work of journalists and other news professionals, it will not be the last.” 💪🏼
@nwu.orgWe stand with the workers - the board should too.
@nwu.orgWe're in solidarity with @propublicaguild.org workers in their fight!
@nwu.orgNWU, alongside @wgaeast.bsky.social, condemns the layoffs at the Washington Post & joins @postguild.bsky.social, @wapotechguild.bsky.social, & @newsguild.org in their demand that Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Post and one of the richest men on Earth, reverse them. Full statement: nwu.org/wapo-layoffs
![The NWU logo sits at the top left corner; toward the top is the words "NWU STANDS WITH" next to an image of a raised fist; underneath it reads "the Washington Post Guild, the Washington Post Tech Guild, and the NewsGuild"; at the bottom is a black and white image of a person holding a sign that reads "Free Press" and covering their face with a blown up face of Jeff Bezos, the word "Greedy" pasted on his forehead"; the full image is on a beige background
[Image adapted from a February 2026 photo by user Sdkb on Wikimedia Commons]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:jlpjjlapallqqzkqssipyonk/bafkreiclz2usycmwdh5c6t3rm657patmtlrvpp4r5vhclkmoytdrpupe5e)
@nwu.orgAs a labor union representing independent media workers, we feel it's important to name that both Lemon and Fort are independent journalists, and that the targeting of independent journalists should be treated with the same gravity as the targeting of those with institutional backing.
@nwu.org"This is a dangerous assault on press freedom, as well as the U.S. people’s right to know."
@nwu.orgNWU recently implemented a simple, plain-language policy governing AI use for union business. We think it can serve as an example for organizations that want to protect members’ privacy and ensure creative work is done by creative workers. #NewsNotSlop nwu.org/ai-policy
