Karen Block Johnese and Emily Johnese Escalante are Destroying Union Families in Pittsburgh — Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents

I first met Karen Block Johnese in the late 1990’s when she ran the now seemingly dormant Pittsburgh Post-Gazette philanthropic programs. She went on to work with the Pittsburgh Glass Center.

Fast forward to 2024 where she is chairwoman of Block Communications. Notably, the company that refuse to negotiate in good faith with the union and have almost destroyed our newspaper.

Young me was in awe of Karen. She was so regal and accessible. She took me to lunch, invited me to events, and introduced me to her future son-in-law, Francisco Escalante. I met her daughter Emily as wel l.

I moved on from that job, but I always carried a sense of Karen Block Johnese as one of the good folx in my mind. She helped people. She was a creator, a kind person. Karen was an heiress who built her own retaining wall garden project. My family loyalty to the Post-Gazette created a sense of kinship, loyalty-adjacent fondness.

I thought they were the “good” Block family members and could not understand why they didn’t put some family moves on John Robinson Block to salvage their family legacy.