The National Labor Relations Board filed for an injunction last Friday on behalf of the striking newsroom workers of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. This move could fast-track the enforcement of rulings against the newspaper and get striking workers back on the job.
If a judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals approves the injunction, the Post-Gazette would have to restore the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh’s previous contract, which includes paying for the newsroom workers’ health insurance. It would also require management to negotiate in good faith with the union for a new one.
The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, which represents newsroom employees such as reporters, photographers and page designers, has been on strike since October 2022 in what is the longest ongoing strike in the country.
For workers like Tyler Pecyna, an interactive designer on strike, the injunction provides a burst of hope.
“It's been hard sometimes to stomach the fact that I have not taken a paycheck in two-plus years,” Pecyna said. “That's a feeling that can overcome a lot of the positive feelings about this strike. Just worrying about the mortgage and worrying about normal bills and worrying about the things that a 32-year-old, even with a job, has to worry about. But yeah, I am really looking forward to just some certainty in my future for the first time in a long time.”
Last January, an administrative law judge found the Post-Gazette violated federal labor law and acted in bad faith when bargaining with the union. And in September, the National Labor Relations Board again ruled against the Post-Gazette. This injunction would speed up their enforcement.
The labor dispute between the Post-Gazette and the Newspaper Guild began in 2020 when management stopped bargaining with the union and made changes to the newsroom workers’ conditions including taking away a week of vacation, eliminating their short-term disability plan and putting them on a health care plan that cost families as much as an additional $13,000 per year, according to the union.
Earlier this month, the striking workers got a $114,000 donation from the New York Times’ Tech Guild. The unionized tech workers gifted money left over from a fund created to support their weeklong strike earlier this year that led to their first contract with the newspaper.
“It was a big surprise,” said Emily Matthews, a photojournalist on strike. “It was so nice of them to donate such a large amount of money. And I think it just goes to show how union solidarity goes across the country. It's not just a local thing.”
The Post-Gazette, which is owned by Toledo-based Block Communications Inc., also faces a separate injunction in a U.S. District Court hearing scheduled in January 2025 over its unlawful treatment of workers in the Post-Gazette’s mailroom, press operators and advertising representatives.
Pecyna is excited to tell people the news over the holidays. “To answer this question of ‘Hey, what’s new with this strike?’ And tell people that there's an end in sight. You know, that's really good. We're as close as we've ever been to winning the strike and getting back to work.”
