Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Journalists End 3-Year Strike in Victory

 
[Photo credit: Steve Mellon, TNG-CWA Local 38061]

When CWA members fight, we win. On the morning of November 24, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PG) journalists successfully returned to their jobs after winning all of their demands in an historic three-year strike.

The Pittsburgh labor community gathered to welcome strikers back to work with a rally where they were joined by CWA District 2-13 Vice President Mike Davis, NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss, Starbucks Workers United, the United Steelworkers, and other union members, retirees, and supporters. The crowd celebrated and sang “Solidarity Forever” as the strikers walked inside to return to work.

The PG strikers won their case before the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. Unlike with the many previous rulings against the PG’s years-long union-busting campaign, the 3rd Circuit Court’s order is backed by enforcement powers that include the ability to have non-compliant owners and managers detained as well as daily multiplying fines.

Steve Mellon, TNG-CWA Local 38061 member and former striking photojournalist, shared his experience going back to work at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "On our first morning back, we met with managers. We'd anticipated this meeting and prepared for it. Though I figured it would be tense, it wasn't. We got our questions answered, and with that, a lot of pent-up stress fell away really quickly."