Comments on: Transcontinental and the freelance union oxymoron http://blog.fagstein.com/2009/10/03/transcontinental-and-the-freelance-union-oxymoron/ Can you think of a better name? Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:25:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Kristine http://blog.fagstein.com/2009/10/03/transcontinental-and-the-freelance-union-oxymoron/comment-page-1/#comment-95606 Kristine Sun, 04 Oct 2009 02:32:39 +0000 http://blog.fagstein.com/?p=7079#comment-95606 Having opened one of my Google alerts today, I was directed to this page. I'm not familiar with the publication nor the new organization discussed here, but as a freelance writer of 30 years (yes, all of them independent), I "join" Craig in his comment. Too many times those of us who keep our cupboards filled by the words we write are thought of as "free" ..lancers. Few people (clients) understand the amount of time we put into research and learning curves that are not usually billable hours. Much of the time if one is bidding on a job that is out of his/her knowledge line we even research, sometimes for hours, prior to making a bid. That's part of business, but while the doctor is commended for his keeping up to date on the health news, the freelancer is often expected to pull information out of a hat for no pay. Kristine kandiapple.mac@gmail.com Having opened one of my Google alerts today, I was directed to this page. I'm not familiar with the publication nor the new organization discussed here, but as a freelance writer of 30 years (yes, all of them independent), I "join" Craig in his comment. Too many times those of us who keep our cupboards filled by the words we write are thought of as "free" ..lancers. Few people (clients) understand the amount of time we put into research and learning curves that are not usually billable hours. Much of the time if one is bidding on a job that is out of his/her knowledge line we even research, sometimes for hours, prior to making a bid. That's part of business, but while the doctor is commended for his keeping up to date on the health news, the freelancer is often expected to pull information out of a hat for no pay.

Kristine
kandiapple.mac@gmail.com

]]> By: Craig Silverman http://blog.fagstein.com/2009/10/03/transcontinental-and-the-freelance-union-oxymoron/comment-page-1/#comment-95516 Craig Silverman Sat, 03 Oct 2009 13:20:29 +0000 http://blog.fagstein.com/?p=7079#comment-95516 Hi Steve, I appreciate you writing about this issue, and let me disclose now that I'm a member of the board of PWAC. On that note, the organization is the Professional, not the Periodical, Writers Association of Canada. Also, the idea of a freelance union is no longer and idea, as the Canadian Freelance Union is holding elections and its inaugural meeting today to formalize its bylaws and leadership. http://www.cfunion.ca/ You're right in saying that Transcon will still find writers to work for its publications, and you're also right in noting that these contributors won't be the cream of the crop. Most of them won't even be professionals, and that's kind of the point. Transcon is basically saying to freelance writers that this contract represents the way they will do business with us, take it or leave it. There was no notice or effort at negotiation. We professional writers also run businesses and the bottom line is that this contract is abusive to our business interests. Why continue a relationship with a client who doesn't offer any value and acts in such a manner? For me, this is strictly a business decision: the contract makes writing for Transcontinental a losing proposition for any professional writer. It takes just about everything in terms of rights and offers the same pay we were getting 20 or 30 years ago. Who knows what will happen in this specific case, but at a certain point you have to do what's right for your business and livelihood. I hope my fellow writers will see it the same way, and I hope folks out there will consider choosing an alternative magazine or newspaper when faced with a Transcon publication. As a company, they simply don't value high quality reporting and writing. Best regards, Craig Hi Steve,

I appreciate you writing about this issue, and let me disclose now that I'm a member of the board of PWAC. On that note, the organization is the Professional, not the Periodical, Writers Association of Canada. Also, the idea of a freelance union is no longer and idea, as the Canadian Freelance Union is holding elections and its inaugural meeting today to formalize its bylaws and leadership. http://www.cfunion.ca/

You're right in saying that Transcon will still find writers to work for its publications, and you're also right in noting that these contributors won't be the cream of the crop. Most of them won't even be professionals, and that's kind of the point.

Transcon is basically saying to freelance writers that this contract represents the way they will do business with us, take it or leave it. There was no notice or effort at negotiation. We professional writers also run businesses and the bottom line is that this contract is abusive to our business interests. Why continue a relationship with a client who doesn't offer any value and acts in such a manner?

For me, this is strictly a business decision: the contract makes writing for Transcontinental a losing proposition for any professional writer. It takes just about everything in terms of rights and offers the same pay we were getting 20 or 30 years ago.

Who knows what will happen in this specific case, but at a certain point you have to do what's right for your business and livelihood. I hope my fellow writers will see it the same way, and I hope folks out there will consider choosing an alternative magazine or newspaper when faced with a Transcon publication. As a company, they simply don't value high quality reporting and writing.

Best regards,
Craig

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