Post-Gazette newsroom union to vote whether to strike; objects to ‘unfair’ changes

Unionized newsroom employees of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will vote whether to go on strike in response to what the union deems unfair working conditions and other controversial changes imposed by management.

The vote will be decided by secret ballots that will go out in the mail to members in coming days, said Mike Fuoco, president of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh. The union represents 123 newsroom reporters, photographers, copy editors and artists at the Post-Gazette.

The Guild’s 10-member executive committee unanimously authorized the move Wednesday.

It’s unclear when the final results will be tabulated.

The potential work stoppage, which must be approved by a majority and approved by the local union’s national affiliate, marks an effort to pressure management to revive stalled contract negotiations and rescind newly announced changes in working conditions that Fuoco claims strip workers of their rights and don’t include sufficient pay and benefits.

According to Fuoco, an “overwhelming majority” of members were in favor of striking during an informal phone call the union conducted Tuesday.

“Our hope is that by going on strike we’ll force them to see the errors of their ways,” Fuoco said. “Our hope is that the public will not support them if we go on strike, that our advertisers will not support them. And this economic pressure will bring them back to the table, and we will be able to negotiate a fair and equitable contract for both sides.”

In response to a request for comment on the potential strike sent to Tracey DeAngelo, general manager of the Post-Gazette, and Keith Burris, executive editor, the P-G sent a written statement by email Wednesday evening.

“We value all employees of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and want to ensure the future of a daily newspaper for Pittsburgh and the jobs that come with it,” the statement said.

Earlier in the day, the Guild held a related video conference for more than two hours with about 100 P-G employees and national partners, including NewsGuild President Jon Schleuss and Vice President Marian Needham.

“We answered a lot of questions. A lot of good issues were brought up,” Fuoco said. “I don’t think that anyone who spoke, regardless of what their positions were … feel the Post-Gazette has treated them fairly or equitably in the last three and a half years.”

Among specific items that the union opposes: slashing health benefits and severance packages; making it easier to fire employees regardless of seniority; and eliminating the right to dispute issues through grievances and arbitration.

The company also is trying to take away a week’s worth of vacation from the most veteran employees, Fuoco said.

Employees have been told they will have to start paying up to 30% of the cost of health insurance premiums starting Sept. 1, and that those benefits can be terminated at any time, according to Fuoco.

“Eligible bargaining unit employees will now participate in the company’s insurance plans and will share in the costs of those plans, as is normal with nearly every other company and organization,” P-G management said in the statement.

The company is offering a pay raise of 3% in the coming year and up to an 8% increase over the next three years.

Fuoco said the proposed pay hike does not make up for cuts and freezes in pay raises that have persisted for 14 years, particularly when combined with more costly health benefits.

“It’s not good,” said Fuoco, “and we are going to fight and fight and fight.”

The Guild further accuses the P-G’s management of unlawfully declaring a contract impasse as of Tuesday, and plans to file a related unfair labor practices complaint, Fuoco said.

The P-G said in a statement that as a result of the impasse, “the newspaper has implemented certain portions of its final contract offer to the Guild.”

“We told them we are not at an impasse, we are ready to meet any time,” Fuoco said. “It’s an effort to bust the union and to put their foot down on us.”

Tension had been mounting among the P-G’s newsroom employees in recent months and years.

The Guild has repeatedly accused Block of unfair labor practices and a hostile work environment, and criticized the decision to reduce the newspaper’s 234-year-old print publication from seven to three days a week.

In November, a majority of the Post-Gazette’s newsroom union that they had “no confidence” in their executive editor, publisher or parent company, Block Communications Inc. The vote was followed by a monthlong byline strike.

Officials with Block Communications, the Toledo, Ohio-based company that owns the Post-Gazette, could not be reached. Jodi Miehls, Block’s chief financial officer, and Keith Wilkowski, vice president of legal and government affairs for Block, did not return a request for comment.

The news organization’s roots date to the late 1700s, when The Pittsburgh Gazette became the first daily newspaper published west of the Allegheny Mountains.

The Block family acquired the Post-Gazette in 1927.

Earlier this month, 14 employees took buyouts offered as part of an effort to shrink the P-G’s newsroom by about 20%.