PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette workers are calling for new leadership at the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, weeks after the newspaper announced it would publish its final edition later this year.
In a statement Thursday, the “majority of the bargaining unit at the Post-Gazette” said it’s seeking new elections in the union after it misrepresented “our prevailing views for many years.”
Post-Gazette workers had begun returning to work in November after a three-year-long strike over contract issues. But on Jan. 7, the Post-Gazette’s owner, Block Communications Inc., announced the 240-year-old newspaper would cease operations on May 3.
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In Thursday’s statement, Post-Gazette workers claimed the union members returning in November represented only a quarter of the roughly 100-person bargaining unit. The rest either resigned from the union and crossed the picket line in protest of the strike or joined the paper as new staffers.
“The Guild’s effort was never as broadly supported as it claimed publicly,” workers write.
Workers call on the Communication Workers of America, NewsGuild and Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh to “represent our shared views promptly, fairly and legitimately” as they work with Block Communications Inc. or potential new ownership to preserve the paper.
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Workers say the Post-Gazette’s loss would make Pittsburgh the largest city without a daily newspaper. Without the paper, they say, “many stories will simply go uncovered, and the community will suffer as a direct result.”
You can read the full statement below:
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