Pittsburgh Post-Gazette contract talks stall, no new sessions scheduled

Contract talks between management and striking Pittsburgh Post-Gazette workers stalled Tuesday with no new negotiating sessions set as the walkout began its third month, currently the longest media strike in the U.S.

Pittsburgh Newspaper Guild President Zack Tanner declined to comment on the bargaining session. Post-Gazette spokeswoman Allison Latcheran said both sides met briefly in the morning and only a few minutes in the afternoon.

“The union then took a break, but did not return to negotiations,” Ms. Latcheran wrote. “The company attempted to set future meeting dates, however, a follow-up meeting was not scheduled.”

Sparking the walkout by members of five Post-Gazette unions Oct. 6 was a switch in health insurance plans, which the company implemented for all of its workforce. The consumer driven health care plan, sometimes called high-deductible health insurance, has grown in popularity among employers in recent years because of the savings it affords by shifting a bigger share of the costs to employees.

Read more