I grew up in a union town, of course. My father and other relatives were union men. I understand the importance of a union in the labor and economic ecosystem. While they are as inherently flawed as any other tool of capitalism, unions are necessary to dismantle capitalism in the long run and to protect workers from the worst of corporate abuses during these end times.
Unions are about relationships. My relationship with the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh came through an unlikely avenue – my work protecting the rights of trans youth. One of the Guild’s elders, both professionally and in terms of age, had been following our Protect Trans Kids projects for a few years. We had met at an event in 2022 where Steve Mellon intentionally broadened his knowledge of his trans and queer neighbors.
To be more precise, when his photography went live with the Post-Gazette story that misgendered a trans youth – he was someone I called. I called every single person I knew at the PG even though it was 11 PM ish. It was urgent to get this correction. My frantic round of messages was noted by Steve when he called me personally to assure me the correction was made and – equally important – the journalist had been educated.
And that’s one reason I like Steve Mellon – he understands how media coverage can deeply impact the lives of readers, for good and for bad. He also believes (I think) that it is his responsibility as an experienced journalist to both create room for new journalists, but offer his support so they aren’t flailing alone with a sea of Sue Kerr’s demanding immediate newsprint justice for a mistake they don’t understand. Finally, he’s a humble man, perhaps too much so, and took it upon himself to acknowledge what he didn’t know about the trans community even though he had been the photographer on the piece in question. He did the work and put in the time to create good stories that will hopefully serve the local trans community well.
So that’s three reasons, not one. And since Steve is also someone who excels in longformat storytelling, I’m going to be okay with the unintentional bait and switch creating more sentences and paragraphs.
My relationship with the Post-Gazette is long and storied. My great-grandfather was a sports editor there from 1931 to his retirement in 1958. My 5x great-grandfather was one of the first subscribers (1810) to the PG’s early iteration, The Pittsburgh Gazette, and spent his senior years actively recruiting subscribers. We always ‘took the paper’ aka subscribed. Blogging introduced me to PG luminaries and often sent me careening into their path. I knew Karen Block Johnese from my social work career. I’ve written letters to the editors, contributed to stories, even had editorial commentary published.
But I walked away immediately for this strike the strikers and the community.
To be fair, my relationship with the Pittsburgh News Guild had been tainted by the toxicity of a ‘good old boys’ dynamic fueled by the former Guild president and alleged trans ally (no) Mike Fuoco. He resigned after allegations of his atrocious behavior emerged so he wasn’t involved in the strike. He died during it. And his conduct is a legacy that the Guild must still resolve.
I was always honest with Steve about my mixed feelings around the Post-Gazette. He never got defensive or denied the behavior of his colleagues. But he also reminded me of the other narratives in the story – the experiences of the other union workers, the impact on the community, and the transformative nature of union organizing itself. He spoke often about the next generation of union organizers such as those with the Starbucks Workers United who simply would not allow a leader who sexually abused women to remain in a position of authority and likely. Change is coming.
These are my words, not Steve’s – it seems that the writing is on the wall for backroom meetings or a labor movement that will tolerate the worst part of all of our institutional structures – sexism, racism, abuse, white masculine toxicity. The horrible values that led to the recent brutal murder of welder Amber Czech by a co-worker, allegedly planned for some time.
It is a mistake to think it was just about one bad man. That poison manifests in different ways, like union members supporting Trump or not knowing labor history or forging alliances based on identity and money rather than values.
I’ll leave this theme here – the Guild still needs to excise the white male toxicity and dig out the seeds Fuoco planted as part of the larger healing process. Again, my words.
Getting back to Steve – who won’t be in the least bit shocked by any detour I take in this post – we worked in tandem on a few additional stories centering trans kids. We became Facebook friends. I took the strike very personally and tried to get involved as much as possible.
Then Steve decided to write a story about me, a response to the complicated situations that left me homeless and occasionally hopeless. We began meeting at a Panera Bread. His affinity for storytelling combined wit his passion for the strike led to lengthy conversations where I learned a hell of a lot about contemporary labor movements. And his family history, the lives of people he had interviewed, the ties that bind.
His story won a Golden Quill award. That along with many other awards the strikers earned through their labor on the Pittsburgh Union Progress strike paper make me aware of just how much the larger community was losing each day these journalists were not on their paid jobs. The PUP is an amazing chronicle, but also a reminder of what the greed of the Block family cost all of us.
One thing I share with Steve is genuine delight in what younger voices using newer communication tools bring to the table. I am quite content with my blog and social media, with no need to start a newsletter or a podcast – but I love those things, too. I value and appreciate what they bring to ‘the work.’ And I heard that in Steve’s voice often as he spoke admiringly about his younger colleagues both in journalism and other unions. With respect and appreciation, not any sense of trying to shape or direct their growth unless asked. Maybe a gentle “hey hey” reminder to acknowledge what has come before, flawed and all.
Steve and I spoke on the phone more often, especially after I returned to my home on the Northside. His compassion for the wavering energies of the remaining strikers along with his absolute outrage at the excessive atrocities of the Block family as they repeatedly try to destroy our community newspaper were palpable in every conversation.
The advantage that Steve and other seasoned journalists on strike had was perspective, the sort that typically comes with age and experience versus degrees and salary bumps. Steve could talk about the last strike. He familiarized himself with media organizing across the country. And he was well aware that he had a true luxury of being able to retire, even while he was enthralled by his ringside seat in a great American labor event.
He stayed. He took on multiple hats, with a special devotion to health and welfare.
Note to all unions especially the “big guys” – collectively hiring a social worker with strong ties to the human services supports world and making that person available to all local union is a smart idea. On day one, someone should be able to connect folks with programs to get food, tax preparation, mental health counseling, etc. Also this person should be able to call the union with members who can install furnaces and such to help out the strikers when a member has that need. Isn’t that the point of solidarity? If you can send Jimmy the furnace guy over and buy the parts at cost, doesn’t that behoove everyone? A social worker, not an aspiring political appointee. This is about relationships and systems, not just stepping stones.
I tried hard to show up for the Guild. At some point, the dynamics I mentioned above were too triggering and I had to take a step back. But I never lost faith in the people or their capacity to change the world. Their small consistent steps forward served as a mirror for my own tilting with windmills, helping me step away from the things that didn’t matter and stand strong for the things that did.
I had planned to be at the welcome back rally on Monday AM, I even had an Uber booked. Then one of my colony cats needed to be trapped because she was was suffering and I’ve been focused on her ever since. Of course I have, but I feel a little disappointed that I didn’t get to be there for that next step. Also, I feel bad for me that I have spent two days trying to trap her with no success.
Note to self – pitch story about community cats.
The magnitude of this successful strike cannot be underestimated. It is a lesson in everything that is good about Pittsburgh – persistence, tenacity, creativity, community building, history – and an important lesson in the national media landscape. It is possible to produce a quality newspaper that respects the employees and the readers as much as the shareholders.
The easy compliment is for me to acknowledge that Steve writing about his experiences as a striker would be great. And useful. But the more interesting thing would be for Steve to edit an anthology by all of the strikers about their experiences.
Because it isn’t just about Steve or not only about Steve, even though his name winds through this post. He’s just the person I had the chance to know better. His enthusiasm for his colleagues suggests their stories are equally compelling. Their shared victory in the strike reinforces that idea. The archive that is the Pittsburgh Union Progress strike paper has the data.
I can’t wait to resubscribe, that’s the truth. I have zero idea who writes for the PG now whereas I used to intentionally keep those relationships strong. I’ll definitely follow up on where the strikers land and continue to see what content they lift up and share. The joy of social media is that I can let them guide me during their own reentry so I can continue to support them in difficult transition AND I can learn who is doing great things at the PG once their scabs heal.
Going back to the beginning – I grew up in a union town surrounded by Dads and Uncles and Grandpas in unions. The only perspective I heard was my father’s and it was not positive. That’s a different story. So my experience with labor has always been academic, not personal.
Following the progress of a strike and the underlying union work with a personal connection is very different. I feel this one, both because newspapers are important in a free society and because I know people who are involved. I am grateful they are going back to work, I am equally grateful that they saved our newspaper.
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