Pittsburgh strikers’ right to picket affirmed (again!) in court ruling

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The Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled that striking union workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette were legally allowed to picket on company property and did not violate labor law by conducting pickets on Pittsburgh’s South Side.

The decision by a three-judge panel filed Wednesday is the latest in a string of legal losses by the company, which has been cited by the National Labor Relations Board for a series of unfair labor practices before and during a strike by five unions that began in October 2022. 

The company appealed a decision by the Allegheny County Common Pleas Court that denied its request for an injunction to end picketing at a warehouse it uses two nights a week on the city’s South Side to distribute papers it publishes and distributes using replacement workers.

“This affirms again that the workers on strike have been in the right and that the Post-Gazette continues to throw money away and burn it on legal cases rather than negotiating with employees,” said Zack Tanner, president of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh. 

Tanner noted that an administrative law judge ruled in January 2023 that the company had bargained in bad faith for more than five years, causing the unions to go on an unfair labor practice strike. The company has appealed that order and refuses to bargain with the four unions that remain on strike, prompting the board to authorize filing an injunction that would order employees back to work. That injunction is still being prepared.

In the picketing case, the company claimed the workers were causing violence at the warehouse and were preventing the company from using its property in violation of trespassing laws. The court disagreed, saying the workers were “wholly peaceful” and short-term pickets didn’t result in an illegal taking of company property.

An appellate court previously overruled a Butler County court that limited picketing by Post-Gazette strikers at the Butler Eagle, where the PG is paying to have its paper printed.

Tanner said it is time for the Post-Gazette to negotiate rather than continue to file court cases “where they continually lose.”

You can read the full Superior Court ruling here.

Donate to the Pittsburgh Strike Relief Fund to support striking workers.

Labor Relations Board Seeks an Injunction Against the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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On Thursday, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced that it is seeking an injunction pursuant to Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act against the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for dozens of ongoing unfair labor practice violations of federal law, 18 months after workers struck to compel the newspaper to follow the law and provide health insurance to workers.

In October of 2022, Post-Gazette management unilaterally cut off the health care of its production, advertising and distribution workers by refusing to pay a $19-per-week increase in health care costs. The workers, represented by CWA, PPPWU and Teamsters local unions, went on strike on Oct. 6. 

The Post-Gazette had already violated federal labor law with respect to its newsroom editorial workers — members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh-CWA  — in July of 2020 when it declared an illegal end to bargaining and unilaterally imposed new working conditions. Those imposed terms included a health care plan with costs that increased for families by as much as $13,000 per year, loss of a week of vacation, loss of protection from layoffs, and degraded work  jurisdiction — essentially undermining union workers’ right to their job duties. A federal administrative law judge in January 2023 ruled that Post-Gazette management didn’t negotiate in good faith, illegally imposed working conditions and unlawfully surveilled workers engaged in union activities.

“As striking workers, we’ve stood strong against Post-Gazette management and the Block family for the last 18 months as they’ve violated labor law and tried to ignore and break our unions,” said Zack Tanner, president of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh. “Today’s signal that the NLRB will finally be seeking injunctive relief through the courts is validation that our fight is just and will be won in short order.”

The NLRB encourages parties to resolve cases by settlement rather than litigation whenever possible, and more than 90% of meritorious unfair labor practice cases are settled by agreement at some point in the process, according to the NLRB. Post-Gazette representatives, however, have repeatedly rejected basic settlements. They have also refused to bargain in good faith, a violation of federal law.

“It’s great that the NLRB is seeking an injunction against Post-Gazette management for repeatedly breaking federal law,” said NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss. “Employers cannot be allowed to actively harm workers. The Post-Gazette could settle this and limit their liability at any time. The NewsGuild-CWA will continue to fight for journalists and media workers in Pittsburgh and across the continent.”

Post-Gazette management has hired police and private security to intimidate and threaten strikers. 

“I’ve had my life and safety directly threatened by the PG’s hired ‘security’ on numerous occasions during the strike,” said Andrew Goldstein, striking education reporter and Post-Gazette unit chair of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh. “Months ago a couple of these ‘security’ contractors hired by the PG — seething my name — tried to follow me into a gas station bathroom after a picket. I look forward to labor law actually being enforced, both for my safety, and the work I want to get back to doing with a hell of a lot more dignity at the paper I’ve read as long as I could read.”

“The Post-Gazette has had the ability to settle the strike at any time, simply by complying with the law, as ordered by the courts and through NLRB decisions,” said Mike Davis, Vice President of CWA District 2-13. “It is unfortunate that the Post-Gazette’s continued unlawful violation of workers’ rights has undermined the rule of law and forced the government to seek an injunction to achieve justice.”

Supporters can donate to the strikers and subscribe to the striking-worker run publication, the Pittsburgh Union Progress at unionprogress.com.

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.

AI Will Not Scab Us: Newspaper Guild Of Pittsburgh Denounces Post-Gazette’s Use Of Artificial Intelligence, Files Grievance

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Newsroom workers represented by the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh vehemently denounce the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s (PG) use of artificial intelligence (AI) to create an illustration that was published in the Jan. 21, 2024, print edition of the newspaper. A formal grievance and information request were filed by the union to PG executive editor Stan Wischnowski on Monday morning.

“The Post-Gazette’s attempt to replace our labor with artificial intelligence is a serious concern to journalists not just in Pittsburgh, but all across the country,” said Zack Tanner, Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh president. “As newsroom jobs continue to disappear due to corporate greed and mismanagement, we stand firmly against any use of AI that takes work out of union members’ hands.”

The use of AI in the PG print edition comes as the unfair labor practice (ULP) strikes against the company sit in their 16th month. Production, distribution and advertising workers 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.

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

“As the PG resists working with us to put an end to this strike, they continue to sink to new lows in an effort to crank out whatever product they can cobble together,” said Jen Kundrach, a PG page designer and illustrator on strike. “That they’ve resorted to the use of inferior, AI generated images rather than custom art by a staff illustrator shows how little they must value the talent of their guild staff. They’d rather squander that talent and put out a subpar newspaper than come to the table and reach a fair agreement with us.”

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 overwhelming 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 be appealing the ruling as far as they would be able to. The case is currently awaiting a decision from the five-person NLRB.

As the anniversary of the administrative law judge’s ruling approaches, striking workers will join other fighting union allies to discuss the barriers to success in U.S. labor law and its implementation, plus discuss how we will win the PG strike.

Supporters are encouraged to attend on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, at the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers Union Hall, located at 10 South 19th Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15203 in Pittsburgh’s South Side Flats neighborhood.

“If John and Allan Block, Stan Wischnowski, Tracey DeAngelo, or any one else in PG management think that this fight is over, they are dead wrong,” Tanner said. “Workers on strike won’t stop fighting, because Pittsburgh deserves a newspaper created by union labor, not artificial intelligence or scab workers.”

How to support striking Post-Gazette workers

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Post-Gazette journalists represented by the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh have been on strike since Oct. 18.

When newsroom workers from the Guild walked out, they joined their PG colleagues represented by mailers, typographical/advertising, pressmen and Teamsters unions, who began a strike on Oct. 6 when their health care was unilaterally terminated by the PG.

Why are we striking?

The Blocks — the PG’s owners — illegally and unilaterally imposed new working conditions on the journalists of the Newspaper Guild.

They cut our wages, took vacation time away our most seasoned workers, farmed out our work to non-Guild workers and forced us onto a health insurance plan that offers less coverage at a higher price.

What are our demands?

We demand that the Blocks and Post-Gazette management:

  • 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 Guild.
  • Meet the health care demands of our striking sister unions.
Strikers and supporters gather on North Shore Drive during a rally to mark one year of Post-Gazette workers being on strike on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, outside the Post-Gazette building on the North Shore. (Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

Why does this matter?

Post-Gazette journalists continue to excel, winning top honors despite uncertainty caused by the contract situation and other factors. The PG and its staff are recent winners of a Pulitzer Prize (2019), the Keystone Media News Organization of the Year (2022), other individual and collective awards for print, photography and commentary in news and sports coverage.

Like other essential workers, many of whom were forced into even greater risks, the Post-Gazette staff has worked diligently through the COVID-19 pandemic at no small chance of exposure to get our community as much public health information as possible. 

Meanwhile, Post-Gazette journalists haven’t received an across-the-board raise since January 2006. That includes even basic cost-of-living increases — essentially meaning that the journalists are being paid less and less each year. A letter asking for a one-time cost-of-living stipend as inflation reached a 40-year high was ignored by PG management and Block Communications Inc.

The Block family’s insistence on wasting time and money instead of agreeing to stable working conditions has contributed to more than 100 workers leaving our newsroom in the past five years.

This exodus deprives the city of the journalism, information, respect and voices we count on. Because of the Blocks’ refusal to invest in local workers – journalists, production workers, advertising staff and delivery drivers alike – it is harder than ever to find the kind of accurate, timely and trustworthy information we strive to share in Pittsburgh. 

Instead, the Blocks have chosen to spend millions of dollars on an out-of-state, union-busting law firm rather than the local journalists who seek to serve and inform the people of Pittsburgh.

In what world would that money not be better spent on the people who fill, put together and deliver the paper?

Strikers hold up lyrics as members of the Pittsburgh Labor Choir lead a strike solidarity song to the tune of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during a rally to mark one year of Post-Gazette workers being on strike on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, outside the Post-Gazette building on the North Shore. (Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

How can I support the PG’s journalists in this fight?

  • Donate to the CWA Pittsburgh Striker Fund, which will directly benefit striking PG workers who are facing financial hardships over their choice to stand up for a fair contract.
  • Email the publisher of the Post-Gazette, John Robinson Block, at johnrblock@theblade.com and impress upon him the importance of ending the labor strife at his newspaper by reaching a fair contract with the Guild.
  • Cancel your Post-Gazette subscription until the strike ends, and don’t click on PG stories online.
  • Instead of reading the PG during the strike, check out our strike publication, the Pittsburgh Union Progress, at unionprogress.com. You can follow the PUP on Twitter @ThePUPNews and on Instagram @pghunionprogress.
  • Join us on the picket line.
  • Follow the Guild on Twitter and Instagram for regular updates on the strike.
Striking Post-Gazette worker Joe Knupsky speaks during a rally to mark one year of Post-Gazette workers being on strike on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, outside the Post-Gazette building on the North Shore. (Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh on strike: Day 3

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Members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh have been on strike for three days now.

And every single day, our strength grows.

On Thursday, we had our biggest crowd yet outside the Post-Gazette newsroom on the North Shore.

Striking workers on the picket line Thursday morning.

An ever-growing crowd of on-strike PG workers — joined for the second straight day by several new strikers — marched outside the newsroom, making their voices heard with chants like, “Fair contract now!” and “When we fight, we win!”

In addition to the workers, a host of local lawmakers came out to show their support and stand in solidarity Thursday morning.

Those lawmakers joined the picket line, posed for photos and had plenty of great conversations with strikers.

Pittsburgh-area lawmakers and officials pose for a photo on the picket line Thursday. From left: Allegheny-Fayette County Labor Council President Darrin Kelly, state Rep. Jessica Benham, Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb, state Rep. Anita Astorino Kulik, state Rep. Nick Pisciottano, state Sen. Lindsay Williams, state Rep. Dan Miller, state Rep. Sara Innamorato, and state Rep. and U.S. House candidate Summer Lee.

In attendance were: state Reps. Jessica Benham, Anita Astorino Kulik, Sara Innamorato, Summer Lee, Dan Miller and Nick Pisciottano; state Sen. Lindsay Williams; Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor; former Pennsylvania state Auditor Eugune DePasquale; Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb; and Deputy City Controller Rachael Heisler.

The Guild thanks these lawmakers for coming out to join the picket line and stand with us!

A few hours later, the Guild was delighted to formally announce the creation of the CWA Pittsburgh Strikers Fund, a solidarity fund created to financially support the striking PG workers.

Donations to the Pittsburgh Striker Fund are being used exclusively to assist striking PG workers and their families who are facing difficult financial circumstances. The fund is being managed by the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia/TNG-CWA Local 38010 and The NewsGuild-CWA.

The NewsGuild-CWA immediately contributed $10,000 to the fund, and additional donations to the fund continued to roll in throughout the day.

“A union is a family,” said NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss, who has joined the striking workers in Pittsburgh. “We stand for each other because we care about each other. This fund is in place to help those who hit extreme hardships so that we can take care of them.”

Guild member Steve Rotstein, left, NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss and others on the picket line Thursday.

Meanwhile, a small group of strikers once again headed into Downtown Pittsburgh, this time visiting the Market Square Farmers Market.

The group chatted with passersby about the strike and how the public can help to support the PG’s workers. They also snapped a quick group photo outside the Market Square Starbucks to show solidarity with Starbucks Workers United.

Striking workers and NewsGuild staffers pose outside the Market Square Starbucks on Thursday.

To cap off the day, a handful of striking Guild members attended “Off the Record” at the Byham Theater.

Those strikers set up a table in the lobby; spoke to attendees; and passed out handbills containing information about the strike, future actions and how the public can support the PG’s workers.

Guild members Melissa Tkach, left, and Andrew Goldstein take a selfie while Ed Blazina, rear, speaks to an “Off the Record” attendee.

When the show started, emcee Ken Rice made special note of what was happening at the PG — “a group that we all know is under tremendous strain right now, the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh” — which received a loud cheer from the audience.

Special thanks to former Guild members R.J. Hufnagel and Sharon Eberson Axelrod, plus all the other “Off the Record” organizers, for giving the Guild a chance to spread our message.

On Friday, striking Post-Gazette workers will be outside the North Shore newsroom from 9 to 5. Additionally, we’ll have a special announcement about our soon-to-launch strike publication.

This post was updated Friday with a more complete list of lawmakers who attended Thursday morning.

Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh on strike: Day 2

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On Wednesday — Day 2 of the Newspaper Guild’s unfair labor practice strike against the Post-Gazette — our striking workers formed three separate picket lines as we continue our strike against the PG and the illegal working conditions its owners, the Blocks, have forced on all of us.

Striking Post-Gazette members are joined by three union brothers from IUE-CWA Local 22 outside the PG newsroom on the North Shore.

The first picket line was on the North Shore outside the PG newsroom, where the wind and rain didn’t dampen our spirits in the slightest.

Members of the Guild were joined by Connor Lewis from the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, who drove in from State College; NewsGuild of New York organizer Nolan Rosenkrans’ twin brother, Sean; and members of the Allegheny-Fayette County Labor Council.

Barbara Vancheri, former PG movie editor and Guild member, also came down to offer support and cookies from Carnegie Science Center. Voodoo Brewery, just across the street, sent over pizza later in the afternoon, and the worker who delivered them voiced support for our cause. And three union brothers from IUE-CWA Local 22 stopped by with handwarmers — and to pose for a quick photo with us!

Striking PG workers form a picket line outside the U.S. Steel Tower in Downtown Pittsburgh.

A group of about 10 formed a second line outside the U.S. Steel Tower, home of one of the PG’s biggest advertisers, UPMC, and spoke to community members in Downtown Pittsburgh about our mission to keep the PG strong.

Striking Guild member Gillian McGoldrick, left, is joined on her one-woman picket line in Harrisburg by Spotlight PA reporters and Philly NewsGuild members Stephen Caruso, Kate Huangpu and Angela Couloumbis.

And a third picket line outside the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg was led by a single Guild member, the phenomenal Gillian McGoldrick, who was joined in solidarity by three Spotlight PA reporters and NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia members.

Spotlight PA is also refusing to allow the PG to use its reporting during the strike. 

On social media, the outpouring of support has continued from labor unions and elected officials.

The Major League Baseball Players Association stands with us, and the United Steelworkers International Union and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union have pulled advertising from the Post-Gazette.

Guild members will be picketing outside the PG’s North Shore newsroom from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday. We will also be in Market Square from noon until 2:30 p.m.

Come join us and stand in solidarity with our fight to win a fair contract for all our workers!

Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh newsroom workers begin unfair labor practice strike against Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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Newsroom workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, represented by the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, began a strike against the company at noon Tuesday and kicked off a daylong action outside the PG newsroom on the North Shore.

Newspaper Guild journalists picket outside the Post-Gazette newsroom on Tuesday afternoon.

On Monday, the Guild sent a notice to Post-Gazette management to demand that the company end its illegally declared impasse to contract negotiations, lift the unilaterally imposed working conditions and reinstate the terms of the previous collectively bargained contract, and return to the contract bargaining table to reach a fair contract.

The Post-Gazette failed to meet those demands, and Guild members voted to authorize an unfair labor practice strike.

Longtime Guild member Karen Carlin speaks on the picket line Tuesday.

“We’re out here because we believe in this place, we believe in the journalism that we produce, the papers that we print and deliver to the community at large,” Guild President Zack Tanner said Tuesday on the picket line.

“Without the Post-Gazette, without the workers who produce the product, those readers go uninformed,” Tanner added. “It seems like lately, for the past five or six years, the Block family disagrees with that.”

The strike quickly received an outpouring of support from elected officials, fellow journalists and community members across the Pittsburgh region.

The striking Newspaper Guild workers will continue their actions Wednesday at noon, both outside the Post-Gazette newsroom and at the U.S. Steel Tower.

The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh calls on readers, advertisers, business and labor leaders,
politicians and other members of the community to contact the publisher of the Post-Gazette,
John Block, at johnrblock@theblade.com and impress upon him the importance of ending the
labor strife at his newspaper by reaching a fair contract with the Guild.

Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh newsroom workers authorize unfair labor practice strike against Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 

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The newsroom workers of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, represented by the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, voted on Monday to authorize an unfair labor practice strike against the company.

On Monday, the Guild sent a notice to Post-Gazette management to demand that the company end its illegally declared impasse to contract negotiations, lift the unilaterally imposed working conditions and reinstate the terms of the previous collectively bargained contract, and return to the contract bargaining table to reach a fair contract with the 101 journalists the Guild represents.

If the Post-Gazette fails to meet those demands, Guild journalists will commence a strike at noon Tuesday.

“The workers who produce the Post-Gazette are taking a stand against the hostile and illegal treatment at the hands of John and Allan Block,” said Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh President Zack Tanner. “We, the workers, are standing together today, ready to fight to win back our contract and work toward signing a new collective bargaining agreement that preserves the Post-Gazette for the Pittsburgh region.”

The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh has been in negotiations for a contract with PG management since 2017. The PG’s union-busting attorneys bargained in bad faith for 3½ years. On July 27, 2020, the PG unlawfully declared an impasse to negotiations, despite the Guild’s bargaining committee noting that negotiations were not even close to an impasse and that the Guild was willing to continue discussions to reach an agreement.

But despite that, the PG illegally and unilaterally imposed new working conditions on the journalists of the Newspaper Guild, cutting their wages, taking vacation time away from veteran workers, farming out their work to non-Guild workers and forcing them onto a health insurance plan that offers less coverage at a higher price.

The Newspaper Guild subsequently filed unfair labor practice charges against the Post-Gazette over these violations of their workers’ rights. Over five days in September and October, these unfair labor practice charges were argued by the National Labor Relations board in front of an administrative law judge. The PG newsroom workers are taking this action while anticipating a major victory coming out of this hearing.

The owners of the Post-Gazette, Block Communications Inc., led by twin brothers John and Allan Block, have spent millions of dollars to try to bust their workers’ unions rather than attempting to reach a fair contract with the writers, editors, photographers, artists, designers and other journalists whose hard work has provided the Pittsburgh community with award-winning journalism since the late 1700s.

If the Guild workers’ demands to restore their contract are not met, then journalists will strike, joining a picket line alongside their co-workers from the production, distribution and advertising unions, who are already out on their own unfair labor practice strike against the PG. The Blocks, as they did during negotiations with the Newspaper Guild, chose to bargain in bad faith with the production, distribution and advertising unions, and they chose to strip those workers of their health care plan rather than reach a deal.

“These journalists are just trying to do their jobs in service of the people of Pittsburgh,” said NewsGuild President Jon Schleuss. “It’s despicable for the Blocks to fight their own workers and disrespect their rights to have a union. They need to bargain in good faith now.”

The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh calls on readers, advertisers, business and labor leaders, politicians and other members of the community to contact the publisher of the Post-Gazette, John Block, at johnrblock@theblade.com and impress upon him the importance of ending the labor strife at his newspaper by reaching a fair contract with the Guild.

Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh journalists stand with striking Post-Gazette production, distribution and advertising workers, will take actions in solidarity

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As the unions that represent the production, distribution and advertising workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette commence a strike in response to the termination of their health care coverage and failed negotiations with the Post-Gazette and its parent company, Block Communications Inc., to reach an agreement on a new plan, the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh stands with these striking workers in their fight for fair, affordable and comprehensive health care to allow them to care for themselves and their families. 

The Post-Gazette’s failure to offer a reasonable health care plan to the diligent and experienced workers who sell its ads, make its presses run and deliver its newspapers every single week is just another reminder that the Post-Gazette and its owners, John and Allan Block, care more about pinching pennies than treating their employees fairly.

In conjunction with the production, distribution and advertising strike, the Newspaper Guild is announcing that its members will immediately begin withholding their bylines from any physical or digital publication and will undertake other actions to stand in solidarity with our colleagues. 

“The workers of the Newspaper Guild stand with the production, distribution and advertising unionized workers at the Post-Gazette as they fight for a fair and just health care plan,” said Zack Tanner, Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh president. “The Block family has shown time and time again that they would rather pay their attorneys outrageous fees than give the workers who produce the product one benefit at all.”

Guild writers, editors, photographers, artists, designers and other journalists will remove their names from their work to indicate that they support the strike — and that they will not stand idly by as their co-workers are stripped of their health care coverage by the Post-Gazette’s multimillionaire ownership. 

The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh is asking the community to stand with the production unions at the Post-Gazette currently on strike.

Newspaper Guild members are all too familiar with the miserly management of John and Allan Block, who for years have made it abundantly clear that they would rather spend millions to hire high-priced attorneys from Tennessee to try to bust their workers’ unions instead of reaching fair contracts with the employees whose hard work produces the news.

“Two years ago, we decided to embark on a legal strategy to fight the unlawful impasse and unilateral working conditions that the Post-Gazette forced upon its journalists,” said Tanner. “While our National Labor Relations Board hearing is still ongoing, this union will be standing strong behind our union colleagues as they enact a major job action against the Post-Gazette.”

The Newspaper Guild’s last contract with the company expired in March 2017, and unproductive contract bargaining continued until July 27, 2020, when the Post-Gazette illegally declared an impasse to bargaining and unilaterally imposed working conditions that lowered wages, reduced benefits and stripped away years of bargained protections for the 100-plus newsroom journalists represented by the Newspaper Guild. 

The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh calls on the community to contact the publisher of the Post-Gazette, John Robinson Block, at johnrblock@theblade.com and request that he end the labor strife at the newspaper.