Marty Hart-Landsberg, Chair opened the meeting at 4:03 pm.
Welcome and introductions: Martin Hart-Landsberg, David D. Levine, Lura Frazey, Bob Rossi, Stefan Ostrach, Joanna Brook, Jonathan Rosenblum, Kacey Carpenter
Agenda: Marty reviewed our Agenda
Writers Corner: Kacey introduced The Writers Corner featuring David D. Levine, the Hugo- and Nebula-winning author of the space caper novel The Kuiper Belt Job. You can watch the video recording of his presentation and Q&A discussion here, “The Future Predicts Science Fiction” here.
Meeting Minutes May 19, 2024: Approved
Treasurer’s Report: Lura shared our current report incremental membership dues of $270, hosting fee ($20.18) current balance $7,683.86 with AFL-CIO dues payment pending.
Organizing committee: Marty shared plans for an organizing committee to develop a plan and organizing kit to build awareness. In addition to our new buttons, the goal is to create NWU t-shirts, bookmarks, and other organizing tools with our new logo, a quote from Toni Morrison, url to our website, and scan code.
- Quote: “We don’t need any more writers as solitary heroes,” said Toni Morrison in the speech she gave in 1981, on the day a caucus of 3,000 writers gathered to form what would become the NWU. “We need a heroic writers’ movement—assertive, militant, pugnacious. That is our mission and our risk: we have chosen it. It is also our power: we have earned it.” Source: Freelance Solidarity Project
- Joanna suggested an abbreviated quote on the t-shirts so that the perception is not “we don’t need any more writers.” Perhaps, “We need a heroic writers’ movement—assertive, militant, pugnacious.’
- Kacey shared that the organizing committee will create concept samples for review and feedback with our members.
- Bob shared that this is a good thing but emphasized the need to integrate with a strategic plan and target audience.
- Lura shared that she loved the idea and believes it can work to raise awareness and agreed with Bob that we need a strategy with easy actions and a path to get there.
- Marty suggested that we add this topic to our next meeting in September.
- Jonathan agreed these are the right questions and suggested that the strategic plan should address the key issues and needs of the writers in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest to excite people to get involved with a campaign. He suggested that we invite members of the Washington Chapter to collaborate and participate in the upcoming meeting. Action: Kacey will work with Jonathan and the Washington Chapter Chair to invite members to join.
Reports:
- Delegate Assembly report: Marty shared that the Delegate Assembly has not been scheduled yet but is planned for October. Marty will represent us as Chair automatically; Bob was elected, and Jim Smith was elected. Still, there is an issue that Jim is not a current member of the Oregon Chapter.
- Union Unilateral Announcements: Marty shared background about Unilateral Announcements and the history of NWU and UAW. There is a discussion about current approaches with specific publications given that many freelancers do not work long-term for a single publisher but freelance across many different publications. Three paths include:
- Target high-profile publishers to create pressure on others
- Hire Steward staff to support freelancers in the grievance process with these publishers
- Survey members to better understand needs, issues, and publishers since NWU does not have this information.
- Discussion:
- Kacey recommended starting first with the member survey to better understand issues and needs.
- David shared that we can learn from the recent Screenwriters Guild grievance process. Also, there is a difference between NWU freelancers and other unions that make us different from organizations such as the UAW since we do not have a collective bargaining agreement and process between staff and management but potentially an infinite number of publications to negotiate with, making the situation different and difficult to sustain. Though it’s important to deal with the world the way it is.
- New buttons: We have buttons with our new logo available to members. To get your button(s) send an email to Marty with the number of buttons you need and your address. Contact Marty at: marty@lclark.edu.
Reports from Labor Council/Chapter Representatives:
- There were no reports
Open comments:
- Bob shared a fundraiser for Linda Tirado. During the George Floyd protests in 2020. She lost an eye and suffered TBI and is now dying of her injuries. Hospice care is expensive. Please contribute if you can and learn more here.
Our next meeting will be Sunday, September 8, 2024, at 4:00 PM featuring the Writers Corner with Kacey Carpenter and a joint meeting with Oregon and Washington Chapter members to collaborate on our organizing strategy and plans as recommended by the organizing committee. Stay tuned for more details.
The meeting ended at 5:20 PM.