For the past three years, I had been the Post-Gazette’s K-12 education beat reporter. This is a story that I unquestionably would have covered for the Post-Gazette.
But not that day.
That day, I was reporting for the Pittsburgh Union Progress, the publication of striking Post-Gazette workers.
I had been on strike since October alongside many of my colleagues from the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, the union that represents newsroom employees at the Post-Gazette, as well as workers in four other unions.
And it incensed me that the Post-Gazette was hiring replacement workers rather than negotiating a deal.
I had seen some of the new hires at picket lines outside of the Post-Gazette newsroom, but this was the first time I had seen one at an assignment.
“Are you with the Post-Gazette?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said, “are you Andrew Goldstein?”
“I am,” I said, and then added “you know, you’re welcome to come out on strike with us.” She said that she understood. We stood around awkwardly for a few minutes until the governor arrived. I covered the press conference, but in the back of my mind, I knew I needed to say more.
When the press conference ended, the reporter quickly made for the exit. I caught up with her just before she got to the door.
“Hey,” I said. “One more thing.”
I had been anticipating a moment like this for months, waiting to give someone a piece of my mind.
I remember the day I signed my Newspaper Guild union card.
It was early March 2015, and I was pulled into a side office just off the Post-Gazette newsroom to write my name on a small manila-colored piece of paper. I didn’t really know what to think about it.