Post-Gazette publisher and co-owner John Block spent about an hour with a striking worker and the Pittsburgh Labor Choir on Wednesday night. It was an unexpected twist to an evening originally planned as a labor-themed Christmas caroling event designed to get Block’s attention.
Block controls 25 percent of the PG’s parent company, Block Communications Inc. Last night he expressed his frustration with the representation hired to negotiate on behalf of the company. The PG is represented by attorneys from King and Ballow, a Nashville-based firm. At one point Block suggested he could negotiate a contract himself – put him in a room with the union bargaining team and nobody leaves until they reach agreement on a contract, he mused. He also suggested the company simply try using different representation.
“We should try something different,” he said.
Block said he wants to settle the strike but claimed he simply doesn’t have the power to do so. He’s squabbling with his twin brother, Allan Block. Other BCI board members aren’t stepping up in ways that would resolve the labor dispute, Block said.
“Nobody listens to me,” he said.
Allan Block, CEO of the company, earlier this year filed a lawsuit alleging, among other things, that John Block wanted to take his place in that role. Allan Block’s lawsuit also accused their fellow board and family members of seeking a quick sale of the company. Lawsuit documents showed John Block and other family members seeking information about how Allan Block was spending money as well as basic information about bargaining on behalf of the company that netted $490 million in profit in 2019.
Twelve days later, Allan Block was fired. BCI board members voted to replace him with Allan Block and John Block’s older cousin, Karen Block Johnese, as board chair. In October, it was announced that the lawsuit was settled out of court. Allan Block was rehired as CEO, and the dispute was “amicably resolved,” a company spokesperson said in October. John Block remains the vice chair of the BCI board.
He said disagreements remain.
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Shortly after 9 p.m., choir members and the striking worker walked up to the front door of John Block’s house on Devonshire Street, which is lined with lavish homes. Choir members had planned a lineup of songs, many of them holiday tunes modified with lyrics promoting solidarity and worker rights. They started off with “The Whole Wide World Around” while the striking worker rang the doorbell.
About a minute later, Block opened the door. He was talking on a cell phone and smiling slightly. He briefly let whoever was on the other line hear the song, then told them he could call them back another time. After the choir finished its first song, the striker introduced himself and the others. Block then talked for several minutes about his frustrations with the strike and the grim state of journalism.
The striking worker asked, Is there anything you can do to resolve the strike?
After talking about his lack of power within the board and his frustrations over feuding with his brother, Block noted the cold weather and invited the group inside.
“If I’d known you were coming, I’d have put something out,” Block said. “I’ve got some Heineken.”
The choir members and striker followed Block into his living room. A lighted Christmas tree brightened a far corner. Block told the labor choir he had just decorated it. He sat in the center of the room in a high-back chair next to a massive fireplace. He wore a dark suit with a pocket square, a light blue shirt and a tie. Choir members gathered in a sort of semi-circle across from him.
Block embarked on a wide-ranging discussion. Topics included political divisions, World War II history, cable news. If you want your blood pressure to go down, he said, stay away from Fox News and CNN and all those other cable mainstays.
At one point, the striking worker noted that the BCI board is scheduled to meet in January and asked if the workers could do anything to move the board toward a resolution of the strike. Perhaps the strikers could attend the meeting, he suggested. Block would not commit to this and, in fact, seemed to wave the question away as he returned to the discussion about disagreements within the family.
Block was then asked if he’d join the choir in a few songs. He said he didn’t mind being photographed for the strike paper while doing so. Later he posed for a group picture.
Choir member Edwin Everhart strummed his guitar, and they all – boss and striker and activists – joined together in a version of “The Ballad of Joe Hill,” sung to the tune of “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” The song is a labor classic about the famed union activist — framed for murder and then executed — and his spirit living on wherever workers organize and fight.
Shortly before the choir and striker left, Block shared that the BCI board had had what he called a “mini-board meeting” earlier Wednesday. He also said the group meet again Thursday.
The PUP is the publication of the striking workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
