Striking Workers’ Right to Picket Affirmed as Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Loses Final Appeal

PITTSBURGH – On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania denied a final appeal by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PG) and affirmed a Superior Court ruling that upheld the right of striking workers to picket, which is protected under both state and federal laws. The Post-Gazette had initially sought an injunction to prevent their striking employees from picketing a PG facility where scab workers were doing the work of union members.

As a result, the Post-Gazette now owes the cost of legal fees to the striking unions, Communications Workers of America (CWA) Locals 14827 and 14842, the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh (CWA Local 38061), and PPPWU Local 24M/9N.

“Based upon those factual findings, PG did not establish that the Unions caused property damage, engaged in violence, or seized PG’s property,” the Superior Court of Pennsylvania wrote in its decision. “The question of whether the Unions were trespassing on PG’s property is intertwined with the question of whether the Unions’ strike activity was protected under section 7 of the NLRA. See Sears, 436 U.S. at 201-03. As such, the trial court did not err by determining that the NLRA preempted PG’s request for an injunction premised upon Pennsylvania trespass law.”

“The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania rightly saw through the Post-Gazette’s attempts to intimidate workers exercising their right to join together and has denied the PG’s effort to waste all of our time in court when we should be meeting at the bargaining table,” said CWA District 2-13 Vice President Mike Davis. “CWA members have been on strike for more than two years, and with their dedication and solidarity, they have won important legal victories that affirm the rights of all working people in Pennsylvania.”

“This reinforces what we’ve been saying all along,” said Natalie Duleba, striking editor and page designer and secretary of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh (CWA Local 38061). “The injunction was yet another waste of resources and a clear attempt at intimidation. We look forward to the company accepting their wrongs and putting its time and money to better use by respecting us and bargaining a contract that includes dignified health care and reinstating the terms they illegally tore up years ago.”

The Post-Gazette is facing multiple court cases for its unlawful conduct during contract negotiations with its union employees. On Tuesday, the Western Pennsylvania U.S. District Court will hold its final hearing on the National Labor Relations Board’s request for an injunction against the PG for its numerous violations of labor law against striking advertising workers, mailers, and press workers.

The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals is awaiting a final response from the company regarding the NLRB’s request for an injunction over the PG’s numerous violations of labor law against its editorial workers—members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh (CWA Local 38061).

In 2020, the company illegally and unilaterally tore up the editorial workers’ union contract, claiming they had bargained to an impasse. Both an administrative law judge and the National Labor Relations Board in D.C. ruled that the company broke federal labor law in this instance, in addition to bargaining in bad faith and illegally surveilling its workers.

In October 2022, the PG unilaterally cut off the health care of its production, advertising, and distribution workers by refusing to pay a $19-per-week increase in health care costs in an attempt to force them onto a company plan with no year-to-year cost controls. The workers, represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Locals 14842 and 14827, and PPPWU, went on strike on Oct. 6, 2022. Members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh joined on October 18, demanding restoration of their 2014-17 contract and dignified health care.

The striking workers have maintained their picket lines for over two years in America’s longest-running strike, winning many legal victories over the Post-Gazette.

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About CWA: The Communications Workers of America represents working people in telecommunications, customer service, media, airlines, health care, public service and education, manufacturing, tech, and other fields.

cwa-union.org @cwaunion