Pittsburgh Progress

Rising costs, social isolation and the loss of “third places”— places outside of homes and workplaces where people meet and gather — are all big topics of public conversation these days, and libraries are taking on each of these issues.

Community members have been able to support these new projects and more through Love Your Library, an annual monthlong fundraiser that began in September 2016. All donations up to $500 are matched, thanks to support from the Jack Buncher Foundation and the Nisource Charitable Foundation of Columbia Gas.

Contributor Holden Slattery highlights some of the major projects underway at local libraries. ⬇ Link in comments

The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh has secured its latest – and final – legal victory against Block Communications Inc.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear BCI’s request for an appeal of a ruling requiring the company to reimburse union members for pay cuts and increases in healthcare costs incurred under illegally imposed working conditions.

The Guild says BCI owes millions of dollars to current and former PG employees. The company has now exhausted its appeals. ⬇ Link in comments to read the story.

Workers continue to strike at Duquesne Light, the electrical utility company that serves most of Allegheny and Beaver counties, including the entire city of Pittsburgh.

The workers, represented by IBEW Local 29, initiated the work stoppage at midnight Oct. 1 over numerous issues, including wages and working conditions.

Duquesne Light wrote in an email to customers that electrical service will continue during the strike and that "contingent workers" are available to perform critical work. The company also said it is committed to negotiating with the union in good faith and reaching a fair agreement.

Founding Worker Member Andrew Goldstein shares more scenes from the picket line. ⬇ Link in comments

During the famous "Pittsburgh Renaissances" of the mid- to late 20th century, corporate-led agendas frequently bypassed working-class residents, seizing land through eminent domain and displacing thousands of Black families in neighborhoods like the Lower Hill District.

When national leaders gathered at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in September for the 2026 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference, a starkly different paradigm took center stage. Now, legacy residents and local workers have a seat at decision-making tables to build lasting community equity.

Contributor Sonya M. Meadows shares highlights from the conference. ⬇ Link in comments

The Bloomfield Starbucks was the first in Pennsylvania to unionize under Starbucks Workers United. Now it’s been shuttered, with only one day’s notice from the company.

Past and present employees gathered on Sept. 26 outside the closed store for a rally to voice their rage and sorrow, as well as their affection for their coworkers and customers.

Founding worker member Steve Mellon spoke with former baristas about what the Bloomfield store meant to them and the community as a center for union organizing. ⬇ Link in comments

Pittsburghers are sometimes taught that the failure of the Homestead Steel strike in 1892 killed off industrial unions for decades. The Pressed Steel Car strike in McKees Rocks is just one example of the many labor uprisings that still took place in the first decades of the 20th century, though.

It was the first time that foreign-born workers in Pittsburgh stepped to the forefront and demanded fair treatment, which paved the way for their activism in steel mills and other plants in the ensuing decades.

Contributor Mark Roth explains the story behind the strike and its lasting impact. ⬇ Link in comments to read the story.

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in a country where immigrants and Latinos are increasingly vilified is an act of resistance, according to Jessica Rios Viner.

She is the president of the Pittsburgh chapter of the LCAA, a leading advocacy group for Latino and Latina working rights in the U.S. In an essay for the Pittsburgh Progress, she explains why celebrating the history, culture and contributions of Latinos and Latinas matters so much right now. ⬇ Link in comments

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When the region’s steel industry collapsed in the 1980s, leaving tens of thousands of Western Pennsylvanians without jobs, community activists and laid-off steelworkers came together to form the Mon Valley Unemployed Committee.

Decades later, the committee is still helping workers with unemployment claims. Only now its reach extends far beyond the Mon Valley and the steel industry.

To boost cash flow and help it sustain full-time staff, the committee will hold a fundraiser from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Sept. 17 at Spirit, a restaurant and event space in Lawrenceville. ⬇ Link in comments to read the story.

Leon Ford was shot five times by Pittsburgh police in 2012 in a case of mistaken identity that left him paralyzed for life. In the years since, Ford, 33, of Irwin, has become a speaker, activist, author and, now, playwright.

“The Weight of Forgiveness” will be presented at 7 p.m. Sept. 16 at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center.

Here for the Pittsburgh Progress, Ford talks about his journey. ⬇ Link in comments.