On the Strike Line – Karen Carlin

Karen Carlin, a striking Post-Gazette worker, spoke during a rally outside the City-County Building on January 28, 2023, in Downtown Pittsburgh. (PHOTO CREDIT: Emily Matthews, Pittsburgh Union Progress, member of TNG-CWA Local 38061.)

Name: Karen Carlin
Local: The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, TNG-CWA Local 38061
Workplace: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Job Title: Copy Editor/Page Designer
Experience: 30 years
Strike Time: 2 years
Quote: “It’s been a long two years, but I have faith that we will win in the end because our fight is right. The company has repeatedly violated federal labor law. The strike is worth the time, energy, and sacrifice that my colleagues and I have put into it, and I appreciate the solidarity shown amongst ourselves and from family, friends, and even strangers. I am glad we’ve been able to continue to serve our community with great journalism by producing our strike publication, the Pittsburgh Union Progress. PUP has allowed me to get to know my fellow strikers better and also tap into other skills I hadn’t been using with regularity, such as writing and photography.”
Inspiration: “One thing that has kept me going is the obvious fact that the Post-Gazette won’t be happy until it has obliterated the unions. Otherwise, I believe the strike would have been settled by now. That makes it all the more imperative that we see this through, not just for ourselves but for future workers, so that they will have decent pay and benefits, union protection, and, most of all, respect.”

To support striking workers and families, you can do any of these three things today:

1. Donate to the strike fund that's used to pay for rent, utility bills, car repairs, groceries, and to keep their pets alive and well.
    
2. Order a T-shirt repping their strike publication, the Pittsburgh Union Progress. All proceeds go to the same strike fund.
    
3. Subscribe to the Pittsburgh Union Progress for free news on the strike, the lives of working people in Western PA and beyond, and more.