An update on the 15-month strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

President of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, Zack Tanner, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the 15-month strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Tanner discussed efforts to use the National Labor Relations Board to assist in returning their employer to the bargaining table and how the newspaper owners have avoided good-faith negotiations.

The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh is a part of the NewsGuild-CWA, also known as NewsGuild-CWA Local 38061. The Local represents the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newsroom workers. There are nearly 90 striking workers across five different unions. Tanner talked about the fight for a new contract and their simple requests.

The Collective Bargaining Agreement expired in March of 2017, and the Post-Gazette has not tried to negotiate with the union for a long time. Tanner talked about the lack of progress in negotiations since 2017 and how the workers got to the point of going on strike. The Local has filed several complaints with the NLRB, which ordered the employers to bargain in good faith. In response, the employer has chosen to appeal the decision and has not returned to the bargaining table since the decision was made, taking advantage of the NLRB’s inability to enforce their decision, Tanner said.

Instead of negotiating with the striking workers, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has hired scab workers to keep the paper running. Tanner talked about the employers choosing to ignore the strike and spending more money to replace workers and hire security for the building during the strike than they would have paid to come to an agreement for a new contract. To learn more about the strike, read the strike publication from the union or donate to the striking worker's relief fund, please visit unionprogress.com.

For more from Tanner, please listen to the episode above.