WTH is happening in Pittsburgh?

You get in a meeting of your local, and it's an echo chamber. Nobody would dare question that. But you are, of course, absolutely right.

 

JC, I’m not disagreeing with you. Just saying, people have a choice. Whether I agree with you or not, you’re still a colleague.

I was called a scab once by a coworker. Background: Union gave concessions so bosses could hire more part-timers instead of paying OT. I was one of the part-timers. I never wanted to boot people from their jobs or support union-busting. It was a collectively bargained agreement. I’m just sensitive to this stuff, I guess. It was probably the best situation I’ve been in, newsroom-wise. The guild was still strong, despite aforementioned concessions. I paid dues. I was happy to pay them.

 

Any more contract negotiations on the horizon?

 

Per the local NPR station, no negotiations are scheduled at this time.

Also, the guild is asking the DOJ to investigate the parent company for a recent purchase of the alt-weekly that had been covering the labor dispute.

NewsGuild asks DOJ to investigate Block Communications Inc. purchase of City Paper

 

Guild wins big in front of administrative law judge, who rules the company acted illegally when it imposed a contract.

 

Good.

 

That's a very interesting take. And relevant. The Blocks are being represented by King and Ballow, which was involved in that baseball strike as one of the firms representing the owners.

 

I'm sure this is far from over. The Blocks are exactly the type to appeal and drag this out.

 

When I returned to the News after three years on strike I had to work with a bunch of them
It was very strange to hear them mimic the boss’ laugh the way our crew did
In time I opened up and got along with them
I had to. I felt it was very important to get people back in those buildings
I had more slack for the crossers than the replacements. I felt Gannett and Knight Ridder screwed all the employees while the scabs made a choice to go there and take somebody’s job
One of my manager friends said: “They seem nice but it’s always in the back of your mind what they did.”

 

King and Ballow was one of the bad guy firms in Detroit

 

You’re a better man than me. A scab is a scab and it says all I need to know about a person.