Dealing with the boycott
If you haven't heard yet, the Canadian Writers Group and the Professional Writers Association of Canada are urging all freelancers to boycott Transcontinental over the company's refusal to make amendments to its master contract.
My heart goes out to all the editors at the Transcon publications who will have to hunt harder for contributors, or have to take on extra work to meet their deadlines. It's a horrible position to be in. Editors are the writers' connection to a magazine, and often the writers' biggest advocates, and unfortunately they are the ones who will hurt most from this action.
Transcon editors, how do you plan to cope? Do you think it will affect you much? Have you had any writers speak to you about the boycott yet? Have there been discussions in the office to develop a strategy? Will you be taking on more work yourself?
Non-Transcon editors, chime in too: how would you cope?
My heart goes out to all the editors at the Transcon publications who will have to hunt harder for contributors, or have to take on extra work to meet their deadlines. It's a horrible position to be in. Editors are the writers' connection to a magazine, and often the writers' biggest advocates, and unfortunately they are the ones who will hurt most from this action.
Transcon editors, how do you plan to cope? Do you think it will affect you much? Have you had any writers speak to you about the boycott yet? Have there been discussions in the office to develop a strategy? Will you be taking on more work yourself?
Non-Transcon editors, chime in too: how would you cope?
- Corinna vanGerwen
Comments (5)
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5. John says:
A boycott can't work because freelance writers can't control the supply of workers -- ie someone else will do it if you won't.
4. Craig Silverman says:
So asking to negotiate rates/rights is considered "high maintenance"? In every other business, this kind of thing is standard practice. Haven't you ever discussed your salary/position/benefits with an employer? Did that make you high maintenance? I don't think so. This is a pretty straight forward issue of negotiation, except Transcon decided to issue an ultimatum: sign the contract or you won't get paid, can't work for us. We choose not to sign.
3. Carter says:
Warning: The following may not be suitable for some audiences: most editors will search for lower-maintenance writers. Is this a good thing? Maybe not, but I'd bet it's a reality.
2. Corinna says:
Yes, sorry, omission due to obviousness. I assume every editor will bring concerns to their bosses, as I would. Because I know how slow it could be to address those concerns and to resolve the situation, my interest is in what editors are doing in the meantime.
1. Craig Silverman says:
I understand that this puts editors in a tough spot. But one option for them that you didn't mention is for editors to raise the issue at their publication and encourage Transcon to find a compromise solution. That's what us freelancers want, and it's in the best interests of everyone, especially editors. Rather than simply coping, Transcon editors should try and help find a resolution. Their voices need to be heard within their organization.
About Me
Corinna vanGerwen
Corinna vanGerwen is a freelance editor and writer. She has worked as senior editor at Style at Home, senior design editor at Cottage Life and is the former Canadian Director of Ed2010. She has also held the position of operations manager at a boutique PR agency, where she handled strategic planning and daily operations.
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