The striking workers of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette celebrated a milestone Thursday in their efforts to raise funds to support one another while on the picket line.
The CWA Pittsburgh Striker Fund passed the $50,000 mark after days of strong fundraising followed by more than $2,500 raised from Wednesday’s benefit show at Bottlerocket Social Hall.
When it launched Oct. 20, the strike fund immediately received $10,000 from the NewsGuild-CWA, which is the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh’s parent union.
In the two weeks since then, the fund has been boosted across social media by numerous unions, politicians, public figures and many other members of the community.
The money in the fund will be used to support striking PG workers and their families with financial hardships that come up during the strike. Workers who are on the picket line do receive some strike pay via the Communications Workers of America, but for most, those benefits are still far less than their typical pay — meaning that making ends meet has been made much more difficult by the strike.
On Thursday night, a few of the striking PG workers joined a video call with dozens of union journalists from around the country to talk about what it’s like to go on strike.
About 70 journalists from around the country heard from Zack Tanner, Newspaper Guild president and PG interactive designer; Tanisha Thomas, a Guild member and PG digital content producer; and A.J. Scarpaci, a member of the PG’s typographical workers union and an advertising account executive.
On the picket line outside the PG’s North Shore newsroom Thursday, the daily lunch purchased by another union in solidarity arrived a little bit late.
Pizzas from the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild were delayed due to a time zone mix-up.
But the food arrived nonetheless, ensuring the striking PG workers were fed well for the 17th day running.
Alex is a digital news editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike.
