Newspaper Guild Of Pittsburgh Denounces Post-Gazette’s Grievance Denial Over Artificial Intelligence Scab Work

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The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh resolutely disagrees with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PG) management’s denial of the grievance filed by the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh over the paper’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) to create an illustration for a print edition last month.

“Once again, Post-Gazette management showed that they have zero respect for the union workers at the newspaper,” said Zack Tanner, Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh president. “We will not let our jobs be replaced because management decides that they can ignore our demands and put out a lesser product without us, the Pittsburgh community deserves better than what Stan Wischnowski is giving it.”

Last week, PG human resources representatives denied the grievance, which comes as the ongoing unfair labor practice (ULP) strikes at the paper extend into their 17th month.

Despite the fact that the union filed this grievance with PG executive editor Stan Wischnowski and requested a newsroom representative to attend the hearing, neither he nor any member of the newsroom were present to discuss the critical implications of using AI in the workplace.

The company offered no reasoning for its denial.

Since the strike commenced, the PG has hired at least 26 strikebreaking replacement scab workers in the newsroom. The union workers at the PG stand firmly that the use of AI to generate content covered by union jurisdiction is yet another slap in the face to worker’s rights at the newspaper.

“Using AI to create entire illustrations from nothing but a few descriptive words is like using a website to make a medical diagnosis based on a few symptoms,” said Jen Kundrach, a PG page designer and illustrator on strike. 

“AI cannot replace the skill and talent of a human being,” Kundrach said. “But that won’t stop greedy business owners from attempting to use it to replace skilled artists.”

Production, distribution and advertising workers at the PG commenced a ULP strike on Oct. 6, 2022, over the loss of their health care plan due to the PG’s lack of payment that amounted to $19 per week per worker. Newsroom workers commenced their own ULP strike on Oct. 18, 2022, in response to the PG’s years of bad-faith bargaining and unilateral gutting of their collective bargaining agreement.

Our return to work demands have remained the same throughout the strike:

  • End the illegally declared impasse to contract negotiations.
  • Undo the unilaterally imposed working conditions and reinstate the terms of the 2014-17 newsroom contract.
  • Return to the contract bargaining table to reach a fair contract with the journalists represented by the NewsGuild.
  • Meet the health care demands of our striking sister unions.

On Jan. 26, 2023, a National Labor Relations Board administrative law judge ruled overwhelmingly in favor of newsroom workers, ordering the company to rescind the unilateral working conditions it had imposed in 2020, and restore the union’s previous contract, which expired in 2017, as well as ordering the company to return to the bargaining table in a good-faith effort to reach a new collective bargaining agreement. 

Company attorneys told union workers at the bargaining table that they disagreed with the decision and would appeal the ruling as far as possible. The case is currently awaiting a decision from the five-person NLRB.