The National Writers Union (NWU)/UAW Local 1981 has ended its boycott of The Huffington Post.
The Newspaper Guild has also stopped the boycott, writing: “We have asked, from the beginning, that Arianna Huffington and her staff meet with us to discuss the need for a model that compensates journalists for their efforts. Such meetings have now taken place, and the company has publicly pledged to work with us to resolve our differences. We are pleased to see HuffPost leaders stating so clearly the importance of paid journalism, not only to our society as a whole, but to their own business model.”
The NWU will continue to grow its Pay The Writer! campaign to create better pay scales for online writers. The boycott began in the spring as Newspaper Guild and other groups called for a writers strike in the wake of The Huffington Post’s $315 million sale to AOL.
Here’s more from the union: “For now, the boycott has run its course … Writers create more than content. We create value and wealth. Just ask Arianna Huffington. Working without pay should not be the expectation of online publications – or online writers. Quality journalism must be justly compensated. Today we are in touch with hundreds more writers than we were when we started, and some are joining NWU. Over the coming months our organizing drive will become more active and visible, as hundreds and then thousands of freelance writers add their collective knowledge and wisdom to this campaign.” (Via Edward Champion)