National Writers Union|Chicago
The
Freelance Worker
Protection Act :

Signed into Law
on August 4.
Congrats,
Illinois!
Freelance
Isn’t Free.
image: Josh Duke

Freelance isnt free.

It was a long time coming. But since the first big Freelance Isn’t Free win in New York in 2016, U.S. freelancers are gaining new confidence about their rights to full economic participation.

Our demand for guarantee of fair work terms can’t be ignored. Across America, FIF is change working people urgently need.

In 2023 Freelance Isn’t Free arrives in Illinois. The Freelance Worker Protection Act (HB 1122) — passed in the House and the Senate in spring and signed into law by Gov. Pritzker on August 4 — realizes at state level provisions already covering independent and 1099 workers in the cities of New York, Los Angeles, and Columbus. It takes effect on July 1, 2024.

The National Writers Union has been a vocal principal backer of this important advance in labor law at every step.

You can be part of bringing this new day for American workers. Join us.

On May 18, NWU President Larry Goldbetter and member Edward Hasbrouck spoke with WorkWeek’s Steve Zeltzer about keeping solidarity with journalists imprisoned in the U.S. and abroad — with focus on the union’s support for member Mumia Abu-Jamal, imprisoned in Pennsylvania since 1982.

About the NWU

The National Writers Union enters U.S. labor history with the convening of the American Writers Congress in 1981.

Until 2020, the NWU was Local 1981 of the UAW. At present we affiliate with the AFL-CIO directly by provisional charter.

We represent the International Federation of Journalists in the U.S.

In 2019, the NWU became the home of the Freelance Solidarity Project, formed the previous year by staff laid off from various online publications. The FSP continues today as NWU’s Digital Media Division.

The name National Writers Union speaks to our roots. It doesn’t mean we’re an organization for writers only. We are the union of independent media workers: journalists, photographers, book authors, illustrators, graphic designers, videographers, audio producers, social media managers — content producers and maintainers in every medium.

We’re independent workers in media standing together. We’re American labor. Join us.

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