Union made

Congratulations to my friend Jonathan Tasini on his last day as President of the National Writers Union, Local 1981 of the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, more commonly known as the UAW, of which I am an active member. After serving 13 years as leader of the union for freelance writers, Jonathan is moving on to head a new nonprofit, the Creators Federation. In his new position, Jonathan will continue to advocate for the rights of writers and other independent content creators. Jonathan is best known as the victorious lead plaintiff in Tasini v. The New York Times, a lawsuit filed in 1993 by Jonathan and other freelance writers against the Times and other publishers that were reselling the writers' work through electronic databases, even though they had only paid to use it in print. In June, 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the writers.

Congratulations also to my friend Marybeth Menaker, a veteran labor activist who steps up from Vice President for External Organizing to become the new NWU President.

In a related matter, Monday, April 28 is Workers Memorial Day, sponsored by the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), honoring all workers killed or injured on the job.