The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is shutting down, with its owners, Block Communications, citing a recent court ruling in favor of the union that represents newsroom staff. 

Block Communications announced on Wednesday that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will publish its final edition and cease operations on May 3. In a press release, the company called operations “no longer sustainable,” saying it has lost more than $350 million in cash running the newspaper over the past 20 years.

“Recent court decisions would require the Post-Gazette to operate under a 2014 labor contract that imposes on the Post-Gazette outdated and inflexible operational practices unsuited for today’s local journalism,” Block Communications said in a press release. 

The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh said the decision comes after the U.S. Supreme Court denied the Post-Gazette’s request to stay a U.S. 3rd Circuit Court order requiring the company to reinstate a contractual health care plan it illegally tore up in 2020. Post-Gazette journalists returned to the newsroom in November, ending a three-year strike. 

“Instead of simply following the law, the owners chose to punish local journalists and the city of Pittsburgh,” Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh president Andrew Goldstein said in a news release. “Post-Gazette journalists have done award-winning work for decades and we’re going to pursue all options to make sure that Pittsburgh continues to have the caliber of journalism it deserves.”  

Despite closing the paper, the union said the Blocks are still required to pay back all bargaining unit employees for the costs that were illegally passed onto them. 

Days ago, Block Communications also announced that it would cease operations at the Pittsburgh City Paper, an alternative weekly publication that has been in print since 1991. The Post-Gazette, meanwhile, has been publishing since 1786. 

“We deeply regret the impact this decision will have on Pittsburgh and the surrounding region. The Block family is proud of the service the Post-Gazette has provided to Pittsburgh for nearly a century and will exit with their dignity intact,” Block Communications said in a statement. 

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