Dispatch from the freelance front

Yes, there is some good news for freelancers.  Three women rallied their fellow freelance writers and editors to file a group grievance for unpaid fees against Heart and Soul magazine—and they just won a settlement of over $125,000.  The case took 18-months, during which time the National Writers Union also won a $360,000 settlement in federal court against a textbook publisher.  In all the NWU’s “Pay the Writer” efforts have won more than $1.5-million dollars for members across the nation.  Regarding the Heart and Soul victory, NWU President Larry Goldbetter says, “This settlement goes far beyond a national magazine making the long overdue payment to our members for work they performed. It sends a signal to the growing number of freelance writers and the publishers that profit from our work, that—in this new economy of independent workers—we can effectively organize into unions. We can fight to protect our interests.”