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Congressman Chris Deluzio Hosts Striking Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Worker as State of the Union Guest

February 6, 2023

Mailroom employee and CWA Union Member James “Hutchie” VanLandingham has been on strike for four months protesting unfair labor practices at the newspaper

 

ASPINWALL, PA – Today, Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) announced that his guest for his first-ever State of the Union as a Member of Congress will be James “Hutchie” VanLandingham, a union worker currently on strike from his job as a mailer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He and dozens more of his fellow employees and members of Communications Workers of America (CWA), the Newspaper Guild-CWA of Pittsburgh, and the Teamsters are on strike for basic healthcare, a livable wage, and respect at the bargaining table and in the workplace. After being without a contract since 2017, workers launched their unfair labor practice strike on October 6th when Block Communications illegally cut their healthcare. Members of the Newspaper Guild-CWA joined the strike on October 18th. This historic strike is the longest newspaper strike of the digital age.

Mr. VanLandingham is a third-generation employee of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and has worked as a mailer there for 28 years. Between him, his father, and grandfather, the VanLandingham family has given around 100 years of loyal employment to the newspaper. Hutchie currently works in the mailroom at the Clinton, PA printing plant, which is in Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District. The union way of life runs in his blood, as he is a proud member of the CWA and his father and grandfather were both members of the Teamsters. He has been on strike for four months and mans the picket line four hours a day, six days a week. This is not only Mr. VanLandingham’s first opportunity to attend a State of the Union Address, but it is also his first visit to Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Capitol. A photo of Mr. VanLandingham can be downloaded here.

“Workers like Hutchie VanLandingham and his fellow workers are on strike from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to fight for basic dignity, respect, and benefits in the workplace that every single employee deserves,” said Congressman Chris Deluzio. “As their strike stretches into its fourth month, in a show of solidarity, I invited Hutchie to join me down in Washington at tomorrow’s State of the Union so he can bring their story of struggle to the national stage. His story is one about hard work and how a union job can uplift and be a source of pride for families. It is also a story about how a company’s owners, despite generations of worker loyalty to that newspaper, have put their greed and lust for profits above all else.”

The Congressman continued, “Hutchie and all workers at the Post-Gazette deserve better. Every single worker in America deserves better. We need to attack head on the raw corporate power that is sucking the lifeblood out of our workers and our communities. When corporate jagoffs like the Post-Gazette owners at Block Communications come for my people and my region, trying to destroy a union and workforce behind a treasured newspaper, I will be there in Congress to fight them, standing with workers and for the union way of life. It is an honor to host Hutchie at this year’s State of the Union to put workers’ rights and the labor movement in front of the President and in the national spotlight.”

“I am on strike to fight for all the rights that we as a union deserve, and for the respect that all workers deserve from any company,” said Hutchie VanLandingham, CWA member and striking worker at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “My father and grandfather fought for decades for the benefits that we have today, and I will be on strike for however long it takes to honor that work and achieve honest wages, decent healthcare, and a good way of life. I am grateful for the chance to attend the State of the Union and show the world what it means to be a union person, and what it means to have solidarity and to support each other as a united front. I am here to tell the millionaire Block Family that we are not backing down, and that we are bringing our strike to the highest level. Only together can we stop big corporations from trying to use their power to squash us. Only together can we win the battle for workers’ rights and a better workplace.”

"Congressman Deluzio is a true fighter for working people and has stood alongside the striking Pittsburgh Post-Gazette workers from the first day they were on the picket line,” said Communications Workers of America President Chris Shelton. “As a union organizer and someone who cares deeply about our democracy, Congressman Deluzio understands that union membership and locally produced independent journalism are critical for healthy communities. We appreciate his continued support and thank him for raising awareness of this important strike."

Just a few weeks ago, a judge found that Block Communications broke the law in the Guild’s National Labor Relations Board case due to their years-long delay in negotiating a fair contract with its workers’ unions. However, the owners are expected to appeal. Congressman Deluzio will continue to monitor the situation, to stand in solidarity with the striking workers of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and to fight in Congress to level the playing field for workers and unions.

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