Three Years on Strike, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Strikers Will Not “Accept Scraps”

 
Striking Pittsburgh Post-Gazette journalist Ed Blazina addresses the Allegheny County Council following the body’s proclamation recognizing the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh for its resilience in maintaining a strike nearing its third anniversary. Strikers pictured are Natalie Duleba, Zack Tanner, Randy Stoernell, Andrew Goldstein (partially obscured), Rick Nowlin and John Santa. (Photo credit: Steve Mellon/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

On October 18th, members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh (TNG-CWA Local 38061) marked three years on strike against the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PG). Between actions across the city, speaking at the Pittsburgh No Kings rally, participating in a banner drop from Downtown Pittsburgh's Roberto Clemente Bridge, and being honored for their solidarity by the Allegheny County Council, strikers reflected on their strike journey.

“Three years ago, I would have dropped anything and everything in my life for work,” shared striking photojournalist Alexandra Wimley. “I was very much a “yes man.” Cancel plans to pick up a Saturday morning shift? Yes. Run out to cover breaking news at 11 p.m. on my night off? Yes. And, honestly, I was happy to do it because I love the work. But the day we went on strike was the first time I ever really said no to my boss.”

Courts at multiple levels have found that the Post-Gazette has acted illegally, but because of this country’s stymied and weakened enforcement of labor laws, newspaper ownership has been able to evade most meaningful consequences for years. Currently, the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals is deliberating on a case that would enforce the National Labor Relations Board’s ruling ordering the PG to undo its illegal changes to the journalists’ working conditions, which has long been our core strike demand.

Wimley looks to her solidarity with journalists across the industry for inspiration to keep fighting, saying, “At the end of the day, what the strike is all about for me is I don’t want the next generation of journalists to think they have to accept scraps and just scrape by in life to succeed in their career.”

To support striking workers of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, you can donate to their strike fund and, with a donation of $20 or more, order a strike solidarity t-shirt.

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This post originally appeared on cwa-union.org.