Is that… optimism? From Pittsburgh’s long-suffering newspaper guild?

Striking Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh members, who have been battling through what has become America’s longest-running strike, have reason for optimism.

On Friday, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a 28-page board decision and order affirming and expanding a January 2023 determination that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette violated federal labor law when it refused to negotiate in good faith with the Guild.

Union leaders are calling it the most significant development so far in their nearly two-year old strike. The agency affirmed the earlier ruling that the company must take the journalists back to work under the terms of their previous contract, which ended in 2017,  while negotiating in good faith for a new one, along with other recommended remedies.

But the strikers need enforcement from the federal courts. Last month, the local NLRB office filed a request for injunctive relief in U.S. District Court in Western Pennsylvania. Such an injunction could compel the 238-year-old newspaper to pay for the healthcare coverage for three other unions who went on strike in October 2020 over a dispute over who would pay for an increase in healthcare costs.

“These court filings and determinations were badly needed,” said Andrew Goldstein, striking Post-Gazette education reporter, and part of a P-G team that earned a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage of the Tree of Life shooting in 2019. 

“The longer we sit here and wait, the more challenging it is. Depression and doubt seeps in. Those are difficult things to fight off, even among the most hearty and staunch union members and supporters.”

On Wednesday, at the United Steelworkers Building in Downtown Pittsburgh, the Newspaper Guild hosted a standing-room-only crowd of about 10 strikers and 40 community members for a “town hall” to discuss the recent developments, solicit feedback, and dare imagine about what might happen next. 

Topics included media/community relations, the Union Progress strike paper, and how workers might navigate tensions with former colleagues and a contentious new contract negotiation.

The Guild anticipates the Post-Gazette will appeal last week’s NLRB board decision to the U.S. Circuit Court. Post-Gazette marketing manager Allison Latcheran did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Pittsburgh Independent signed a solidarity pledge in support of striking workers when the strike began in October, 2022. 

To the roughly 30 editorial staff members who remain on strike, these victories are not just another step closer to the end of a financially and psychologically stressful ordeal, but validation for the strike itself and the principles they represent.

“We are not on strike against the Post-Gazette, we are on strike for the Post-Gazette,” said Bob Batz, Jr., who went on strike from the paper nearly 30 years to the day he started there.

“I was probably saying this same thing last year, but I hope we get this wrapped up by the end of the year,” said Goldstein. “I’ve been dreaming for many moons about walking back into that newsroom.”

After nearly two tumultuous years on the picket line, some, like Helen Fallon, a striking copy editor, are caging their optimism until there's an official "return to work" order.

Others aren't. Said striking photojournalist Steve Mellon: “Our victory is imminent.”