Pittsburgh Strikers’ Right to Picket Affirmed, Again, in Court Ruling

After committing numerous violations of workers’ rights under federal labor law over the course of the 22-month strike, the publisher of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PG) attempted to question their striking workers’ right to picket. PG Publishing Company, Inc. filed a motion in Allegheny County Court, attempting to permanently bar the striking workers from picketing the newspaper’s distribution center. When the frivolous suit was slapped down, the company spent additional money pursuing an appeal.

In a resounding victory for the striking workers, the appellate judge dismissed this outrageous motion and affirmed that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and its Section 7 protection of the rights of workers to engage in collective action preempted the Pennsylvania trespass law. This victory sets a strong precedent for defending the rights of other Pennsylvania workers.

The judge further rebuffed the PG, finding, “As for violent behavior, the trial court found that the only violence that occurred during picketing was the March 11, 2023 incident where [a scab] for PG, physically assaulted two union members, breaking one of their jaws.”

In October 2022, the PG unilaterally cut off the health care of its production, advertising, and distribution workers. The workers, represented by CWA Locals 14842 and 14827, the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh (TNG-CWA Local 38061), and PPPWU local unions, have maintained their solidarity and their picket lines through America’s longest-running strike.

You can donate to support the strikers by visiting unionprogress.com/donate.

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This post originally appeared on cwa-union.org.