Struck Newspaper Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Closes Allegheny County Print Facility, Pays Out Striking Production Workers

Striking Journalists Maintain Digital Picket Lines with Solidarity from Readers and Former Colleagues

PITTSBURGH – Today, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union announced that striking production and advertising workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PG) have accepted a buyout offer after the newspaper outsourced production of its print edition to the Butler Eagle, eliminating 31 union jobs in Allegheny County. Journalists and newsroom staff represented by the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh (TNG-CWA Local 38061) remain on strike.

“CWA remains on strike against the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and united across our union in defense of our striking members in the newsroom,” said Mike Davis, Vice President of CWA District 2-13. “The Post-Gazette chose to outsource jobs rather than do the right thing and bargain when they closed the main facility and all but two days of print production. They have not bargained in good faith, but we have stood together to negotiate the best possible severance package for the production and advertising workers. As always, we have their backs, and we know that they will continue to stand in solidarity with our striking journalists for justice at the Post-Gazette. The outpouring of support from the CWA executive board, locals, members, and all our union brothers and sisters throughout this long strike has been one of the key factors in keeping our members going.”

Union workers negotiated an agreement to receive 26 weeks of severance pay for all workers and additional compensation for commission-based staff based on historical commission averages. The robust severance package is the direct result of many rounds of union negotiations bolstered by the power union members built through their unwavering solidarity over the course of a 29-month strike. With newsroom jobs to return to, CWA members with the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh-CWA remain on strike, fighting for their rights against the PG’s unlawful actions.

“I feel extremely proud of my fellow employees who had the courage to go and stay on strike,” Kitsy Higgins, a member of the Pittsburgh Typographical Union (CWA Local 14827), told her fellow strikers. “We are obviously disappointed by this outcome, but I’m happy to say that we did what was in our power to fight for workers’ rights. We cannot thank the supporters enough who helped us over the last few years.”

"I am extremely proud to have stood on strike with my siblings in each of the unions at the Post-Gazette,” said John Santa, striking design editor and Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh-CWA member. “My hope is that they receive the best deal possible for themselves and their families and are able to move on after being treated so unfairly by the company for such a long time."

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, also taking a separation package, went on strike on Oct. 6, 2022. Members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh joined on October 18 and demanded the restoration of their 2014-17 contract and dignified health care.

The Post-Gazette recently faced a hearing before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals as the NLRB seeks an injunction over the PG’s numerous violations of labor law against its journalists and newsroom staff.

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. Strikers continue to report local news and updates on the strike in the Pittsburgh Union Progress at unionprogress.com.

###

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