The New York Observer is reportedly having trouble paying the bills. There's no shame in that - so are a whole lot of media organizations. But to stop paying the freelancers? There's got to be a better, fairer way.

Tell the Observer you think they can and must find a solution and pay their freelancers. (After all, these are journalists! Maybe they can take a page from Wall Street and freeze pay at the top?) Doesn't mutual benefit mean mutual responsibility?

Contract writers have been stonewalled by the paper's payroll department after months of non-payment. And it's evidently not the first time they've left freelancers in the lurch.

Style Editor Nancy Butkus said it best herself:  "What I'm being asked to do is immoral.” We couldn’t agree more.
 
But it isn’t Nancy’s fault. This kind of behavior is instituted from the top, and that’s why Freelancers Union is committed to making sure freelancers get paid for the work they do.  
 
The Department of Labor really should institute protections for freelancers, just like W-2 employees have. But let’s tackle the issue from both ends. Send a message to the newspaper that it’s not ok to balance its budget on the backs of independent workers.

Tell the New York Observer to pay its freelancers on time,
every time.