You are not alone against publishers

One of the most powerful benefits to being a member of the National Writers Union is that when you have a contract to sign or a dispute with a publisher, you get free advice from union members trained to help.

The Grievance and Contract division is one of the NWU's most consistently effective areas. When a publisher fails to pay or meet any other agreed-to condition, a tap on the shoulder from a union advocate on your side can be a powerful force, and the threat of passing the word within an organization of thousands of professional writers is substantial leverage.

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How the Grievance and Contracts Division (GCD) works

Email us at advice@nwu.org . Be sure to put "GCD" in the subject line along with the rest of your title, so the spam filter won't get it. Or call us at 212-254-0279, Ext. 10. You'll get a response to a phone call within two business days. Response will be faster to an email. It will generally take less than a week to match you with a contract adviser or grievance officer.

When you email or call us for advice, please be sure to include the following information: Your name; your chapter; contact information; and a brief summary of the situation.

Some of you have been told to contact your chapter instead of seeking help through GCD. That was incorrect information and we apologize to anyone who was inconvenienced by the confusion. We encourage you to contact us directly at advice@nwu.org or the phone number above with your contract advice and grievance requests.

This is your union and we are here to serve you. If you have questions benefits the Grievance and Contract Division or suggestions on how we can improve our service to you, please do not hesitate to contact us at the phone number or email address listed above.

Click here to learn how to join GCD.

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Getting the most out of grievance assistance and contract advice

The working relationship with your newest client isn't really working. Or a new contract has clauses you don't understand -- and, although they say they're giving you a lot, you're wondering what you would actually be giving away by signing it.

These are both classic examples of situations where the Grievance and Contract Division (GCD) can help. GCD is a benefit of your NWU membership, and it is available to you for free, for as long as you are a member of the union.

Here are some tips for using GCD:

1) Contact us
It is very easy. Just email advice@nwu.org or call 212-254-0279, X10.

2) Contact us soon
As soon as you receive a contract or know a situation may be problematic, contact us. Since grievance officers and contract advisers are volunteers, we ask for a week to assign a person to help you. In case of emergency, the emailbox is checked every day.

3) Help us get in touch with you
Let us know the best way to reach you -- by phone or by email. Email is much easier since you can exchange contracts, documentation of non-payment, and other information with your grievance officer or contract adviser. If you use an email address with restrictive filtering, mention this when you contact us, and adjust your email system to receive mail. (Since you may get email from any one of about 45 grievance officers and contract advisers, simply allowing "advice@nwu.org" to email you back will not work.)

4) Provide us with your membership information
We will usually ask for your Member ID number and/or chapter affiliation (e.g. Boston Chapter/Chapter 4). We do this to help ensure that those seeking help are truly members of the NWU.

5) Be prepared
Be sure you have all papers, correspondence, drafts, and other relevant materials close at hand. If a series of events have led up to this situation, write out a listing of what happened on what date. You won't need to send any of this material initially, but once a grievance officer or contract adviser is assigned, s/he will ask you for this information.

6) Check NWU web resources
Be sure you have read through the sample contracts and contract/grievance advice on the NWU web site (www.nwu.org). Please note that some of the materials on the NWU web site are password protected (as they are, like GCD help, for members only). If you do not have this password, contact the National Office at (212) 254-0279 or nwu@nwu.org to obtain the latest password.

7) Understand that there will be times we cannot help
If your situation involves non-writing work only, or if an attorney is already involved, we won't be able to help. There are other situations as well that won't be appropriate for GCD assistance. We don't want to turn away people when they are desperate for help, but our mission is pretty narrowly focused: To help NWU members by advising on writing contracts and assisting with problems that arise with publishers and/or writing clients.

As always, if you have any questions - don't hesitate to ask!