The National Writers Union—which represents independent journalists, in addition to authors, playwrights and screenwriters—is disaffiliating from the United Auto Workers, which it has been part of since 1992. And the reason for the divorce raises concerns about how to advance labor rights in the media industry, which is notorious for its reliance on freelancers.
Tension has been building for a while. As the NWU said in a statement:
In December 2018, we were informed by the UAW legal department that a voluntary agreement we had reached with The Nation was a violation of the Sherman Act and an antitrust violation. We were told not to renew this agreement, and not to negotiate any new agreements. Despite getting three legal opinions supporting our work, the UAW legal department declined any further discussions.