Post-Gazette settles strike with Teamsters

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said Wednesday night it has settled its long 18-month strike by Teamsters Local 211/205, a newspaper executive confirmed.

Tracey DeAngelo, Post-Gazette president and general manager, confirmed the settlement through a spokesperson as she was returning from Toledo, Ohio, where Block Communications Inc., owner of the Pittsburgh newspaper, is based.

Details of the agreement with the union representing truck drivers were not revealed Wednesday.

Joseph Pass, a Teamsters attorney, said Wednesday he was not involved in the negotiations. Pass referred comments to R. Anthony DeLuca, a Pittsburgh attorney handling the negotiations, but he could not be reached for comment.

Joseph Barbano, business agent for Teamsters Local 211/205, could not be reached for comment.

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) represents the other Post-Gazette workers still on strike, including the mailers, advertising staff, and the journalists at the Pittsburgh Newspaper Guild.

CWA District 2-13 vice president Mike Davis said he was disheartened by the Teamsters’ settlement. He characterized it as “selling out in secret.”

“In exchange for severance payments, the Teamsters agreed to dissolve their union at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and end their strike,” Davis said in a statement. “Their decision to prioritize greed over solidarity with their fellow union members is not only disappointing but also a betrayal of the values that we hold dear in the labor movement.”

“After 18 months on strike, standing on the picket lines all day and late into the nights with Teamster drivers represented by Local 211/205, it’s extremely disappointing to see this unit fall for the company’s divide and conquer strategy,” Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh president Zack Tanner said in a statement. “Newsroom workers won’t be broken, though. We will always stand strong against the company’s union busting tactics.”

Newsroom workers, @pghguild members, are standing strong on strike. This strike has always been about securing the future of strong union journalism in Pittsburgh and that doesn't change today.https://t.co/J2Uihg6f3r

— ???????????????? ???????????????????????? is on strike. (@ZackTanner) April 11, 2024

The editorial personnel have been on strike since October 2022, accusing the Post-Gazette of unfair labor practices.

The Labor Notes, a digital newspaper, said in February that the labor dispute by the 31 Guild members is the longest media strike in the digital age.

The Guild members, in turn, have responded by producing their own paper, the Pittsburgh Union Progress.