An Aesop's Fable, the Management Version vs. The Workers' Version

by Ken Wachsberger

 

I came upon the following fable (which I have renamed slightly for clarity):

 

The Fox, the Jackal, and the Wolf: Management Version: The Fox, the Jackal, and the Wolf went hunting one day with the Lion, and together they killed a deer. When it came time to divide the deer so that each could have his share, the Lion said to them, "My weak friends, the first part is mine because I am the King of the forest; the second is mine because I am stronger than you are; the third is mine because I was the fastest of us all; and whoever touches the fourth part will be my enemy forever." And so the Lion took for himself the entire deer. Moral: You may share the labors of the great but you may not share the spoil.

 

According to legend, Aesop was a slave. Somehow I expected higher worker consciousness. Then again, maybe he had to suck up to management for his supper because he didn't have union protection. So I rewrote the ending.

 

The Fox, the Jackal, and the Wolf: Workers' Version ends this way: When the Lion took for himself the entire deer, the Fox, the Jackal, and the Wolf whispered to each other, "What he says is unfair. We worked just as hard as he did even though we contributed in different ways. We deserve our equal shares and to be treated with dignity." But when the three presented their concerns to the Lion, he laughed and said, "Each of you is no match for my strength." And he was right. But together they were able to chase him away, and they did. Then the three enjoyed their individual shares and divided the Lion's share into three equal parts. Moral: United we stand; divided we fall.

 

The end of the story is what we make it. The National Writers Union is remaking the story of the publishing profession by forcing publishers to pay attention to the needs of union writers and respond to our collective voice.

-- We fought The New York Times all the way to the Supreme Court over their theft of electronic rights -- and won.

-- We lobby Congress for fairer laws to protect our copyright and are working to bring about other rights for writers including what every other government in the advanced industrial world offers already: the right of freelancers to negotiate and bargain collectively with publishers for better contracts.

-- We are part of the national and international network of civil rights groups that are demanding universal health insurance, diversity, and economic justice.

-- We are tracking rapid technological changes in the industry in collaboration with an international task force, and developing new industry models.

-- We teach our authors, journalists, and business and technical writers how to understand publishing contracts and negotiate for better terms -- and guide them through our own tried-and-true grievance process when they have been aggrieved.

 

Freelance writers have a long way to go to achieve equal strength with the billion-dollar publishing and distribution corporations and information providers. Every new NWU member increases our strength because there is strength in solidarity. There has never been a better time for that solidarity. As writers we are working in one of the worst work environments in memory.

 

Consolidation of the industry: Huge corporate publishing houses are eating up the smaller houses. Not long ago, authors could compare contracts from multiple publishing houses and negotiate for better terms. Now smaller houses are adopting the author-unfriendly contracts of the corporations that swallow them while growing more conservative in what they publish.

Alternative voices are stifled for lack of outlets. Fair contracts become rare for lack of competition between houses.

 

Outsourcing of jobs: Corporations in this country are sending writers' jobs overseas where labor costs are lower and unions often don't exist. Well-paying jobs in this country, especially of technical and education writers, are disappearing. Corporations are growing richer through federally approved, taxpayer-financed subsidies.

 

Copyright theft: The lifeblood of our industry -- and our income -- is under attack as billion-dollar companies illegally scan copyrighted materials and make them available for their profit, while publishers issue "take-it-or-leave-it" all-rights contracts. The government does not enforce criminal laws that prohibit copyright theft. Without copyright protection, the ability to resell our own work is threatened. Without financial incentive or remuneration, independent voices disappear and major works of nonfiction become rare.

 

As writers we can't fight back alone. Others have tried it. They're out of work or no longer working as writers. The art and creative of writing is a solitary affair. The business of writing is a collective affair.

 

You may already belong to a literary organization or writers' association. Many of us do. But where do you go when the publisher of your new book wants the copyright taken out in its name? When Google, amazon.com and other Internet companies steal your works for their profit? When you want help planning your book tour? When your publisher violates your contract? You join a labor union for freelance writers. In this country there is only one: The National Writers Union.

 

Ken Wachsberger is a former 2^nd Vice President of the National Writers Union and is a contract adviser specializing in contracts from academic publishers. www.azenphonypress.com.