Striking Pittsburgh Post-Gazette workers on Thursday took their message to one of the PG’s biggest advertisers for a second time, had a visit with a member of Pittsburgh City Council and enjoyed something different for lunch on the picket line.
While dozens of strikers held down a picket line outside the PG’s North Shore newsroom on the 10th day of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh’s strike — and the 21st day for the distribution, production and advertising strike — a contingent of workers visited the U.S. Steel Tower for the second time in as many weeks.
On the second day of the strike, a group of four entered the Steel Tower — home to UPMC, one of the PG’s largest advertisers — and were politely rebuffed by workers at the front desk. On Thursday, though, a group was turned away at the skyscraper’s front door by security guards. The security supervisor did pledge to inform UPMC that strikers had again arrived at the building to discuss the strike.
Back on the North Shore, strikers were visited by Pittsburgh City Councilman Bobby Wilson, who represents the neighborhood.
Wilson told workers that it was “troubling” to see one of the few major newspapers in the region treat its employees badly enough that they were forced to walk out.
He called it a “disgrace” that the Post-Gazette refused to work in good faith, but he said the actions of striking workers were inspiring.
“It’s been uplifting to see you all fight against it, stand up against it, and I hope more people join in to stand with you,” he said.
Wilson said he’s exploring ways he can meaningfully support the strike with his colleagues on City Council.
“I see a way of doing a ‘will of council’ [declaration], but it would be great to do more than a Facebook post,” he said.
Wilson said Pittsburgh is a city with a long history of supporting unions, and he told the striking workers to keep moving forward.
“The more you stand up, the more you’re going to see people stand up with you,” he said. “I realized that it’s extremely difficult for you and your families, but when you know it’s the right thing to do, then people are going to come out of the woodwork to stick with you.”
Not only have striking PG workers received strong support from numerous politicians, but fellow member unions of the NewsGuild have been buying lunch for picketers since the beginning of the strike.
Every day, the strikers have been treated to pizza from various Pittsburgh spots.
Until Thursday.
The Newspaper Guild of Detroit purchased sandwiches from Jimmy John’s for lunch. While all the strikers have expressed their gratitude for each and every slice of pizza, the hoagies were a welcome change, according to those on the picket line.
The strikers were set to close out the week with more picketing on the North Shore on Friday, followed by actions in and around Pittsburgh over the weekend.
Andrew Goldstein, an education reporter at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, contributed to this story.
Alex is a digital news editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike.
