Grievance and Contract Division Scores for Members

Publishing your first book? Struggling with your publisher about who owns which rights? Trying to reprint your recipes in another format for another payment? Have a deal with a friend to publish your article?

Great news—but contact the Grievance and Contract Division (GCD) of the NWU before you make a move.

Trained GCD advisors handle issues like this day in and day out for members. And they make a difference. Don't take my word for it. Listen to what members said recently:

• "I feel very happy about this contract. I am really enormously grateful for your support here because I was really at a loss on what to expect and even how to negotiate."
• "[My] phone call [with my GCD advisor] was one of the single most important conversations I have had in recent memory. You have completely turned my head around about protecting and using my intellectual property, about the importance of contracts and how they can be good living documents, and so on. I could go on. That call was worth the price of my dues and much much more."

In the past couple of years, GCD has pursued three publishers who are not paying their writers. In two cases, NWU has taken significant public action to try to get our members their money. The third was only recently reported to GCD.

Grievance Officers and Contract Advisors don't solve every problem for every author, but if you don't email advice@nwu.org, you'll never know how much we can help.