Good afternoon everyone,

And welcome to Tuesday’s edition of the Keystone Labor Report.

I want to give a quick shoutout to everyone who has signed up for the Keystone Labor Report in recent weeks. Thank you for helping us continue our growth as we head into the holiday season.

As media organizations are downsizing and newsrooms are getting smaller, reporting on labor, economic and working class issues will become more important than ever and to help continue this growth, I would love for you to share this newsletter with family, friends, coworkers and colleagues and encourage them to sign up for the Keystone Labor Report as we head into 2026.

Sean Kitchen,

Political Correspondent, The Keystone

(Photo: Sean Kitchen)

Working Pennsylvanians are about to get some money back in their wallets when they file their taxes after the new year.

Gov. Josh Shapiro announced the creation of the Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit, which is modeled after the federal Earned Income Tax Credit.

Pennsylvanians who benefit from the EITC will receive an additional 10% tax credit from the commonwealth. This new tax credit is expected to help 1 million Pennsylvanians, putting an average of $800 back into their pockets.

“ Moms are enormously grateful for Governor Shapiro’s leadership, fighting for a state budget that supports working families, and we know this new credit will boost families, kids, communities, and our economy,” Karen Showalter, a senior campaign manager with MomsRising, said during the press conference.

“ We know that this will make a difference because we hear it from members every day in every corner of the state who need the relief this tax credit provides. So many of our members tell us that even though they’re working hard and caring for their families, they still can’t get ahead financially.”

(Sean Kitchen / The Keystone)

Direct action gets the goods, right?

Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) professors and faculty members called off their strike for Monday after reaching a tentative agreement with the school’s administration late on Sunday.

HACC professors and faculty members have spent more than five years pushing back against their school’s anti-union administration at every step of the organizing and bargaining processes.

They went more than three years without a raise or a contract and were able to reach an agreement after going on strike for two days earlier this month.

Now that they reached a tentative contract agreement, HACC professors and faculty members have to vote on ratifying the contract.

“This has been a long arduous process, but we feel we have reached an agreement that is fair and respectful to the faculty while meeting the needs of the students,” Amy Withrow, HACC Education Association’s chief negotiator and English professor, said in a statement.

“While our Negotiation Team cannot say the agreement is perfect, I can say that it represents compromise by both sides and prioritizes stability and sustainability for our students.”

Starbucks workers from across the country went on strike on Thursday as part of the Red Cup Rebellion, and I traveled to Lancaster to catch up with some striking workers. You can read that here.
ByHeart, a baby formula producer linked to a botulism outbreak in infants, had its Reading manufacturing facility shut down by federal regulators earlier this year after inspectors found mold, a leaking roof and dead insects in a food production area, according to the New York Times.
Members from Transport Workers Union Local 234, which represents 4,000 bus drivers and subway and trolley operators with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, (SEPTA) on Sunday voted to authorize a strike if contract negotiations with management breakdown, according to the Philly Voice.

(Pennsylvania Working Families Party)

Pennsylvania Working Families Party wants to primary US Sen. John Fetterman.

No, really.

Even though Pennsylvania’s 2028 primary is still nearly two and half years away, Pennsylvania Working Families Party called for a primary challenge against Fetterman on Tuesday.

Working Families Party is a third party that helps elect progressive Democrats to office in local, state and federal races across the country, and its Pennsylvania counterparts launched a portal for potential candidates or volunteers looking to oust Fetterman.