Representatives of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette held a bargaining session Friday, the first since the National Labor Relations Board handed the guild a big win in January.
The guild had asked the Post-Gazette to bring new proposals to its next negotiating session. Despite having not bargained with the guild since Dec. 20, the company brought no new proposals forward.
“The company has continued its pattern of not bringing substantive changes to the table,” said guild President Zack Tanner.
A Post-Gazette spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The bargaining session began with guild members reading out a list of demands based on the NLRB administrative law judge’s ruling, which said the Post-Gazette had failed to negotiate in good faith, illegally imposed working conditions and unlawfully surveilled workers engaged in union activities.
The guild members’ questions included:
- Do you commit to bargaining in good faith moving forward?
- When will the company rescind the changes to terms and conditions of employment for bargaining unit employees that were unilaterally implemented on July 27, 2020?
- When will the company restore, honor and commit to continuing the terms of the bargaining unit’s collective-bargaining agreement that expired on March 31, 2017?
Post-Gazette lawyer Richard Lowe answered those questions by saying the company has “always bargained in good faith,” is already in the process of appealing the NLRB judge’s decision and believes the company “has not taken any unlawful action” against the union.
Lowe also said that he and the Post-Gazette “expect to win” their appeal and, if not, will take their case to a higher court.
Guild members were frustrated with the lack of movement from the company. One striking member asked Lowe how “responding with nothing” to its proposals constitutes good-faith bargaining.
“We don’t have to change our proposal if we believe it is fair and a good proposal,” Lowe replied.
Friday’s bargaining session took about 30 minutes. The guild is working with a federally appointed mediator on scheduling a date for the next meeting.
Four other striking news unions, which represent production and transportation workers, met with Lowe and the Post-Gazette’s Rob Weber on Wednesday, but no progress in bargaining was achieved.
“I felt good about today because it puts us on a path forward to resolving the strike,” Tanner said. “We’re crystal clear with our demands, and we’re ready for the company to meet us.”
Joshua covers pop culture, media and more at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Contact him at jaxelrod@unionprogress.com.
Noelle is a business reporter at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but she's currently on strike.