Three years ago today, journalists and newsroom staff at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PG), represented by the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh (TNG-CWA Local 38061), walked off the job in an unfair labor practice strike.
Theaction was in solidarity with production, distribution, advertising, and other non-newsroom unions that had already struck earlier that month after the company unilaterally terminated their health insurance benefits on October 1, 2022. The Guild's strike specifically protested the company's bad-faith bargaining, illegal unilateral changes to working conditions (starting as early as July 2020), and violations of federal labor law under the National Labor Relations Act.
At the time, about 60 of the Guild's roughly 95 members participated, though some chose to continue working while others crossed the picket line (the union maintains a public "scab list" of those individuals).
The strike stemmed from a contract dispute that began in 2017, when the previous agreement expired. Negotiations dragged on for years amid accusations of stalling tactics by PG management. In 2020, the company declared an impasse and imposed its "last, best offer," slashing benefits like health care premiums, vacation time, and seniority protections—moves later ruled illegal by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh represents about 100 newsroom professionals, including reporters, editors, photographers, artists, designers, and page designers.
Initially, five unions struck together, representing over 100 workers across departments. However, by March 2025, production and advertising unions (CWA Locals 14842 and 14827, and the Printing Packaging & Production Workers Union) accepted buyouts—26 weeks of severance plus extras for commission-based staff—dissolved their locals, and ended their strikes, eliminating 31 jobs as the PG outsourced printing to the Butler Eagle. The Teamsters (distribution) settled similarly in April 2024. As of October 2025, only the Guild's ~30 remaining strikers (down from ~120 total initial strikers across unions) are still on the line, making this the longest ongoing strike in the U.S.