5 days left in the subscriber drive; can you help me reach my goal?

Alright, we're nearing the end of the month here at Words About Work, which means we're also nearing the end of my September Back Indie Media subscription drive. To date, we've reached 45 paid subscriptions throughout this month, which is an incredible number, and just five away from my goal of 50 paid subs before we hit October 1st.

I’d like to quote my previous emails to give you a sense of what your paid subscription is helping me accomplish:

In just in the last few months, I’ve helped break news on social media about the Feds storming MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, documented continuous police brutality outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, and helped elevate important community gatherings that strengthen the social safety net in Los Angeles and beyond.

Here at Words About Work, I’ve continued that work: Every week, I send you digests of important headlines from the world of labor that help folks remember that the work is still continuing. I’m branching out into more original reporting, including a series about what it means to struggle for stable work in the wake of a layoff, and covering the labor movement in Southern California and across the country. None of these things would be possible without the support of you–my readers. Seriously.

If you’re a free subscriber and you’ve been with me for awhile, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription. I’ve got a number of tiered options for folks that I hope can fit your individual budget. The annual subscriptions are heavily discounted as well, so if that floats your fancy and it’s in your budget, please sign up here or in the box below.

To reiterate from the other week, I have a number of goals (and fanciful stretch goals) that I’m hoping to accomplish from now until the end of 2026.

With…

• 100 paid subscribers, I could begin to think less about finding part-time bartending shifts to pay the bills, and more about the newsletter
• 250 paid subscribers, I could cover the bulk of my bills and do this newsletter full-time
• 500 paid subscribers, I could travel more extensively for my reporting, outside Southern California and into the wider US to chase labor stories that matter (and afford the annual subscription fees required in order to migrate everything over to Ghost)
• 750 paid subscribers, I could bring on an editor to help with original reporting and producer for a new podcast idea I’ve been kicking around (the dream!)
• 1000 paid subscribers, I will fly anywhere in the U.S. to personally fight your boss
• 5000 paid subscribers, I will fly anywhere in the U.S. to personally fight your boss…in a steel cage match

Again, those last two stretch goals are, for legal reasons, a complete joke. However! If this newsletter reaches that level of readership, then I could really do something incredible here.

So! If you like what I do and want to help me continue doing it, then please, consider getting a paid sub today. I've got a number of extremely affordable monthly/annual tiers that I think fits every budget.

Like I've said in the past, fundraising is an extremely uncomfortable thing for me as an independent journalist to do, but it really does make a difference to know that I'll be able to put all of my resources into this work without worry. Your support helps me do this.

With much love and solidarity from me to you, thank you.

-Mel