The bitter 29-month strike at the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has taken a new turn with some striking workers taking a separate deal.
Production and advertising workers have accepted a
buyout offer that provides 26 weeks of severance pay and compensation for commission-based staff based on historical commission averages.
This occurred
after the newspaper outsourced print production to the Butler Eagle, resulting in the loss of 31 jobs in Allegheny County.
Despite that, journalists and newsroom staff remain on strike. These
workers are represented by the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh (TNG-CWA Local 38061).
“I feel extremely proud of my fellow employees who had the courage to go and stay
on strike,” says Kitsy Higgins, a member of the Pittsburgh Typographical Union (CWA Local 14827). “We are obviously disappointed by this outcome, but I’m happy to say that we
did what was in our power to fight for workers’ rights.”
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Mike Davis, vice president of CWA District 2-13, argues: “The Post-Gazette chose to outsource
jobs rather than do the right thing and bargain when they closed the main facility and all but two days of print production. They have not bargained in good faith, but we have stood together to
negotiate the best possible severance package for the production and advertising workers.”