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Newspaper Guildy of Pittsburgh<\/p>\n
PITTSBURGH\u2014After more than three years out on strike, walking picket lines, gaining public and union support, and publishing their own strike paper, the news staff of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette \u00a0walked back into the newsroom on Nov. 24.<\/p>\n
The workers, members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, approved a legally required return-to-work offer by an 84%-16% margin on Nov. 20, before they walked back in. By law, the Block brothers, the right-wing co-owners of the paper, are forced to accept it and take them back.<\/p>\n
But even though the Newspaper Guild staffers won in court what they demanded\u2014restoration of the contract which expired in 2017, notably including raises and a better health care plan which the Blocks trashed three years after that, they still don\u2019t have a new contract.<\/p>\n
The old contract also included paid time off, a short-term disability plan, and the right to fight discipline from managers, among other collectively bargained workplace rights, the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh said. \u201cThe health care plan the company imposed effectively cut workers\u2019 wages by thousands of dollars each year as the PG dumped costs onto its employees,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n
Had the Blocks resisted this order, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, acting to enforce an injunction against them which the National Labor Relations Board sought and won, could have levied heavy fines and even jail terms for contempt of court.<\/p>\n
But the Blocks\u2019 track record, in both Pittsburgh and at the other paper they own, the Toledo Blade in Ohio, indicates reaching a new contract may not be easy. The most recent Toledo contract took 17 years for the Guild there to win. The Blocks say they\u2019ll appeal, but the 3rd Circuit ruling for the workers and the NLRB was unanimous, leaving them with little if any chance of winning.<\/p>\n
The four other unions at the Post-Gazette who also walked out in October 2022 had settled for lesser terms, then dissolved their units there.<\/p>\n
And the Blocks still must pay the returning workers plus any current Post-Gazette workers who decide to remain.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wheels of justice move nowhere near quickly enough. But it\u2019s clear our sacrifice has made this day and the soon-to-be improved working conditions at the Post-Gazette possible. Every single step of the way, we have told the company and decisionmakers within it this is what would happen,\u201d striking education reporter and Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh President Andrew Goldstein said in the Pittsburgh Guild\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey could\u2019ve saved so much money and trouble by listening to us then. It\u2019s certainly time for them to listen to us now, comply with the order, and get down to bargaining a new contract with the old contract in place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Support for the strikers during the longest strike in News Guild history was nationwide, especially from the Guild\u2019s other locals. It totaled more than $1 million, including $100,000 in unspent contributions from tech workers at the New York Times when they won their strike there.<\/p>\n
The strikers bade a fond farewell to their strike paper, the Pittsburgh Union Progress, with a front-page editorial of thanks to readers and advertisers\u2014most of them unions and non-profit groups.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe journalists were sustained by all the people, including our 4,472 newsletter subscribers, who read and looked at and shared our journalism, who sent story tips and pitches, who talked to us and commented on them,\u201d their front-page editorial said. \u201cOur 100 bylines include those of some of the best journalists anywhere, some of whom, as the legal process bogged down, chose to move on to other jobs and cities. We really miss them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe kept working every single day for 1,132 days, and that included a lot of nights and the wee hours of mornings, as our small but super sports staff fanned out to join other Western Pennsylvania sports lovers at the region\u2019s basketball courts, baseball diamonds, and football fields. We remain all in with this community, whether people are winning a state championship or not winning one, suffering from the effects of the East Palestine derailment or the synagogue shooting trial, or fighting for their own rights and dignity. We did a lot of very good work and loved doing it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we wrote in our \u2018About\u2019 section, \u2018This publication will be shut down at the resolution of the labor disputes.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThat time has come as we union journalists, having won in a court ruling what we sought to win, have voted to end the strike and return to work at the PG. We just want to say from the bottom of our hearts, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
We hope you appreciated this article. At\u00a0People\u2019s World, we believe news and information should be free and accessible to all, but we need your help. Our journalism is free of corporate influence and paywalls because we are totally reader-supported. Only you, our readers and supporters, make this possible. If you enjoy reading\u00a0People\u2019s World\u00a0and the stories we bring you, please\u00a0support our work by donating or becoming a monthly sustainer today<\/a>. Thank you!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCONTRIBUTOR<\/p>\n
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