Workers represented by Local 29 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers finished their shifts on Monday and made their way to the North Shore, where they joined striking Pittsburgh Post-Gazette workers on a picket in front of the newspaper’s offices.
The IBEW members were motivated to show solidarity after two members heard striking PG reporter Ed Blazina speak at a recent meeting of the Allegheny/Fayette Central Labor Council. Blazina discussed the challenges of striking for an extended period of time and the importance of support from other unions. Post-Gazette unions went on strike in October 2022.
“It really hit home to us,” said Jordan Layhew, Local 29’s chief steward and head of the community services committee. He and Al Dean, a member of the local’s executive board, were the two who heard Blazina.
“We just ratified our contract in October,” Layhew said. “We weren’t in the position you’re in, but we felt like we were getting close to that point, to a strike. When we heard you’d been out 17 months — that’s mind blowing that you guys are still putting up a fight.”
Local 29 represents workers performing a variety of tasks — linemen, substation workers, clerical employees. Members continued to trickle to the picket throughout the afternoon. Around 4 p.m., Dean counted 16 members. They’d joined about the same number of PG strikers. After gathering for a group picture, workers from both unions hung out on the sidewalk and talked about their jobs and the challenges and rewards of being active in a labor union.
Layhew, at age 25 one of the younger picketers, continued to stress the importance of union workers sticking together, no matter what their trade.
“We’ve got your back,” he told the striking PG workers. “We’re rooting for you.”
Steve is a photojournalist and writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he is currently on strike and working as a Union Progress co-editor. Reach him at smellon@unionprogress.com.