We certainly appreciate the sentiment on the sign hanging from the railing of the Roberto Clemente Bridge Thursday night. A number of us were heading to the “Off the Record XXV: Burgh to the Future!” show at the Byham Theater, Downtown, when we stopped along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail to take in this sight. We’re approaching the third anniversary of our strike — we walked out on Oct. 18, 2022 — and, like the sign says, we’re confident of winning our case against an employer that blatantly violated federal labor law. The banner gave us a lift as we headed to the Golden Triangle for this year’s “OTR.”
The show was a humdinger. Mayor Ed Gainey’s staff, cleaning out the office, discovers an ’80s-era mobile phone that’s actually a time travel device. The show featured some classic characters from Pittsburgh’s past — former mayors Sophie Masloff, Bob O’Connor and Tom Murphy, and Fred Rogers replacing Aaron Rodgers as Steelers quarterback (he still rocked the sweater). Young and clean-shaven Bill Peduto met his grandly bearded, post-mayor self (the two broke into a memorable song-and-dance number). That giant inflated yellow duck that floated into town back in 2013 made a return appearance. At one point, we found ourselves in a funeral for a deer killed in one of Mt. Lebanon’s culling operations. The show was delightfully wacky and ended with us all singing along to a Pittsburgh version of “Sweet Caroline” — “Sweet Burgh of Mine.”
“Off the Record” is sustained by three unions — the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh (that’s us), SAG-AFTRA Ohio-Pittsburgh and the United Steelworkers — and raises funds for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
Steve is a photojournalist and writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he is currently on strike and working as a Union Progress co-editor. Reach him at smellon@unionprogress.com.