Perverting Solidarity to Cover Up Abuses

Mike Elk || PITTSBURGH, PA. – I hope the New York Times investigation on Cesar Chavez expose forces the labor movement to answer deep questions on how solidarity can be perverted to cover up abuses. But as a veteran labor reporter who has covered sexual misconduct scandals in numerous unions, I have serious doubts that most labor reporters will have the courage to risk their careers to tell these stories.

Chávez had been dead for 31 years, and most of his closest allies are dead. But there are many labor leaders who are still living who’ve engaged in sexual misconduct & whose allies still silence their whistleblowers.

I’ve covered these cases & they are long hard, difficult stories that most labor reporters won’t touch because the repercussions are severe.  My career suffered greatly after taking on former Pittsburgh NewsGuild President Michael Fuoco, whom the New York Times labeled the “Harvey Weinstein of Pittsburgh.”

In 2023, the NewsGuild was forced to reach a financial settlement as part of a three-year-long battle. During this legal battle, I obtained documents through discovery that showed a concerted effort by leaders of the NewsGuild to smear me. Some prominent union leaders smeared me by falsely claiming that I had a reputation as a “harasser” and that many allegations were made against Fuoco.

At one point, the NewsGuild even issued a subpoena for all of my communications with sexual whistleblowers. While the New York Times denounced the attempt, most of my colleagues on the labor beat kept silent. Despite being nominated for an Emmy for my coverage of racism in Pittsburgh, none of the local Pittsburgh papers even covered the lawsuit. (None of the local papers also didn’t cover when former Pittsburgh NewsGuild President Michael Fuoco died of a cocaine overdose last year)

Since the union was in a struggle against the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, no one wanted to say anything, and the union instead decided to respond with a smear campaign against me. Throughout a three-year strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the union remained divided in part because it never resolved these issues.

Many Pittsburgh journalists want to ignore his abuse because while these journalists may not have been complicit in covering it up, they knew and often respected other journalists who did cover for Fuoco. 

University of Texas Professor Robert Prentice, who studied how Fuoco could get away with it for so long, concluded it was because Fuoco had a “network of complicity.” 

“The active participants were drawn into the network, influenced by the harasser’s power, charisma, and ability to control and shape information. They often protected the harasser by making excuses, shielding them from criticism, and sabotaging victims who complained,” wrote Prentice. “Passive enablers tended to turn a blind eye to the harassing behavior, making light of it or rationalizing it.” 

My career was also severely damaged by the scandals. Many top journalists and unions with large social media followings stopped sharing my reporting, hurting my fundraising. My attempts to get money from local Pittsburgh foundations also proved unsuccessful.

I hope the courage of Cesar Chavez’s whistleblowers encourages people to come forward about current labor leaders. However, I have serious doubts if many reporters are willing to endure the smear campaign that I endured for blowing the whistle on sexual misconduct in the NewsGuild.