Thread by @jsilverinpgh

.@PittsburghPG Publisher John Robinson Block, with Keith Burris as his escort, has just entered the newsroom for the first time since Saturday night. He has not issued an apology for his conduct. He seems oblivious to the fallout of his actions.

So @PGNewsGuild originally posted the “Shame on the Blocks!” sign on our bulletin board in reference to our health insurance debacle and the abject failure of John, his brother Allan or any of their family to intervene.

But it seems now that the sign has a multitude of apt uses.

The fact that Allan Block tried to explain away his brother’s atrocious conduct by putting out a garbage statement is shameful. Anyone who was here that night — and several of those Guild members are here now — were traumatized by John’s conduct and how he manhandled his child.

This is a corporate ownership with no moral compass that is circling the wagons and trying to craft a revisionist history instead of stepping up and taking appropriate action.

Both @michaelafuoco and I are in the newsroom — the two Guild members whom Block threatened by name. @angolds is here as is Alex Miller, two of the authors of the witness accounts released today by the Guild.

I guess Block feels threatened, hence Burris’ presence at his side. But the funny thing is that the only people who felt threatened — besides his daughter — ARE HIS OWN EMPLOYEES.

Here’s the thing:

We all know what he did.

This is a remarkable situation. Think about it. At what over major metro daily does the owner show up late at night, scream and rant and rave and have a tantrum, yank his pre-teen daughter around and reduce her to tears, threaten to shut the place down because he lost money...

...and doesn’t like a sign he thinks is mean, threaten to fire union leaders and managers, demand that his managing editor show up in 10’ or she’s canned, tell the HR head of his company that he’s going to get the boot, and then get told by same HR guy to leave his own office?

And what happens next?

From the company, crickets.

Until days later his twin brother puts out a BS statement trying to blame the behavior on corporate financial problems and says the whole thing was “misconstrued.”

Um, no it wasn’t.

So now Block blithely strolls into the newsroom — no notification to the staff of course — despite the fact that the Guild has pleaded with the company to treat him like they would any one of us who pulled the kind of crap that he did Saturday night...

...meaning they should get him some help and bar him from the premises until an independent evaluation can satisfy his work force that he is stable and not dangerous.

This is really some uncharted territory for the Guild...

This afternoon the Guild filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board.

We are alleging a violation of Section 7 protected union activity under the NLRA by Block threatening to close @PittsburghPG unless we cease our union activity.

We are also alleging that Block violated the act by threatening to fire employees in retaliation for engaging in protected union activity.

One of the folks who was here Saturday just said to me: “It’s unbelievable. It’s like it never happened.”

I have been informed that this exists:

#shameontheblocks

Just happened to field a call to the newsroom from WTAE wanting corporate comment on this whole debacle.