PITTSBURGH – A labor journalist has accused a series of newspaper union officials of defaming and discrediting him, after he published a statement alleging that a ranking union colleague of the defendants was a longtime sexual harasser on the job.
Michael Elk of Pittsburgh first filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on June 28 versus Zach “Lightning” Tanner of Pittsburgh, plus the Communications Workers of America, Jon Schleuss, Fatima Hussein and Steve Cook, all of Washington, D.C.
“Elk is the owner of Payday Report, a news publication that covers labor-related issues. Elk is autistic and has been recognized as having a disability by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since 2003,” according to the lawsuit.
“The events described herein began on Dec. 19, 2019 when plaintiff requested defendant Schleuss, in his capacity as head of defendant NewsGuild CWA, investigate NewsGuild Pittsburgh President Michael Fuoco for sexual misconduct based on credible sources he had uncovered.”
One day later, the suit says defendant Hussein called Elk to warn him against his investigation and warned him that making such allegations “could make things tough for him within the union” and “expressed concern that it may look like plaintiff is attempting to blackmail defendant Schleuss.”
“Plaintiff met in-person with defendant Schleuss, in his capacity as head of defendant NewsGuild CWA, on Jan. 11, 2020 to express his concerns about defendant Fuoco engaging in sexual harassment. These conversations continued for months. On Aug. 5, 2020, plaintiff received assurances from defendants Hussein and Cook that information plaintiff provided regarding his sources and the sexual misconduct allegations would remain confidential,” the suit says.
“Plaintiff had conversations with defendant Cook on August 5, 2020 which promised confidentiality. Defendant Cook further urged plaintiff to turn all information and the investigation over to be handled by others. Defendant Cook also indicated that these promises of confidentiality were to be honored and were agreed to by Jon Schleuss. He did so through the statement, ‘I also have communicated with Jon about the need for strict confidentiality and he fully agrees.’ As officers of the NewsGuild CWA, Cook and Schleuss had the authority to bind the Pittsburgh NewsGuild and the NewsGuild CWA and did so through their assurances.”
On Aug. 6, 2020, Elk says he received an email from Defendant Hussein stating: “Everything is confidential, no one is going to share what you sent. Whether you want to tell her is up to you. I don't think it's necessary to tell her, but that's my opinion.”
Defendant Hussein acted pursuant to the authority of Cook and Schleuss, and her statement provided further reinforcement that plaintiff’s statements and investigation would be kept confidential, the suit says.
Based on these assurances, Elk released certain sources and confidential information and published a statement on Sept. 22, 2020, stating that he had turned over certain information and that there had been no investigation into the conduct of Fuoco. He did not provide any specifics on his sources or methods of investigation, the suit says.
“Despite promises of confidentiality, on Dec. 5, 2020, a letter from Schleuss, in his capacity as head of defendant NewsGuild CWA, was sent to more than 25,000 members of the NewsGuild. That letter specifically names plaintiff and discredited his allegations,” the suit states.
“On Dec. 7, 2020, defendant Hussein denied telling plaintiff he had a duty to report the sexual harassment allegations to the union. Plaintiff provided emails from defendant Hussein both contradicting her denial and promising confidentiality to plaintiff for any information he revealed. As is industry standard, this agreement was made over email.”
Elk says the defendants “acted together to publicly identify plaintiff's source and his methods of investigation, breaching the confidentiality agreement” and these items were revealed in a public letter dated Dec. 5, 2020, that was mass distributed by the defendants and their affiliates and parent organizations, under the letterhead of the NewsGuild CWA and also published on Twitter.
Elk adds the defendants also breached the confidentiality agreement, by “publicly identifying plaintiff as a source for allegations of sexual misconduct and most importantly stating that he broke confidentiality”, a damaging accusation, since the suit states that it is the industry standard in journalism to treat colleagues as sources in order to minimize harm and foster respect.
“Starting from Dec. 19, 2019 and continuing to the present, defendants, in their personal and official capacities, defamed plaintiff by painting a negative picture of him publicly and online thereby damaging his reputation. Defendant Schleuss, in his letter, represented that plaintiff did not connect his sources with defendant, which is untrue. Plaintiff provided his sources in order to aid with the sexual harassment investigation,” according to the suit.
“Defendant Schleuss told defendant Fuoco in late September 2020, ‘everything was fine because everyone knows that Elk is insane and has a vendetta against the Guild.’ Defendant Fuoco shared this statement publicly with a reporter and this statement was published in the New York Times. On Dec. 7, 2020, defendant Schleuss liked and promoted a tweet by ‘CM Lewis,’ stating that plaintiff does not actually care about sexual misconduct. Chris Brooks and other advisors to defendant Schleuss promoted that tweet. The above behavior of the defendants adversely affected plaintiff’s ability to secure grants for his business and had the effect of reducing his general readership.”
Elk says that the defendants’ published statements were “false, negative, misleading and extremely damaging” to him, both personally and professionally. Elk added that he was also the victim of a physical assault and email harassment from defendant Tanner, which included “violent death wishes, vulgar language, and ableist taunts.”
“Sara Steffens, CWA Secretary-Treasurer, refused to investigate the matter and issued a letter dated Feb. 18, 2021 that no action would be taken on this matter and refused to conduct a proper investigation into plaintiff’s claims. Defendant Schleuss in his capacity as head of defendant NewsGuild CWA, stated at a union town hall meeting that the physical assault on plaintiff did not occur,” the suit says.
For counts of defamation, defamation per se, breach of contract, respondeat superior liability and intentional infliction of emotional distress, the plaintiff is seeking compensatory damages and punitive damages in excess of the arbitration limits of Allegheny County, plus such other relief this Court may deem just and proper.
The plaintiff is represented by Louis J. Kroeck of LJK Law, in Pittsburgh.
The defendants have not yet secured legal counsel.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-21-007428
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com