Bob, the Majority Builder

July 16, 2026

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Good afternoon, everyone.

It’s Thursday, July 16, and welcome back to another edition of the Keystone Labor Report. You can find Tuesday’s edition here.

I hope everyone is able to remain safe and enjoy their time indoors as the heat and Canadian wildfire smoke smother the state for the next couple of days.

In today’s Labor Report, we’re looking at another endorsement for retired firefighter Bob Brooks and previewing the upcoming Menzingers album.

Sean Kitchen

Political Correspondent, The Keystone

(Sean Kitchen / The Keystone)

Bob Brooks, a retired firefighter and union leader running for Congress in the Lehigh Valley, continues to pile up the labor endorsements after the country’s largest federal government workers’ union endorsed him Tuesday.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) released a slate of eight endorsements, and they’re looking at Brooks to help build a Congressional majority and push back against President Donald Trump’s privatization of different parts of the federal government.

Since launching his campaign against US Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R), Brooks has garnered the support of Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and other prominent political figures such as US Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). He also has the backing of over 15 labor unions and a coalition of progressive organizations supporting his campaign.

There are nearly 66,000 federal employees in Pennsylvania. More than 32,000 AFGE members live in Pennsylvania and Delaware.

“We want people that are going to look at federal work as a positive, and we think Bob will be one of those guys,” Phil Glover, national vice president for AFGE District 3, said in an interview with The Keystone.

The latest Quinnipiac poll shows that Gov. Shapiro remains highly popular and continues to lead Republican Treasurer Stacy Garrity by double digit figures in the gubernatorial race, per Politics PA.
President Trump’s National Park Service is whitewashing and sanitizing the history of slavery at the President’s House Site near Independence Hall in Philadelphia, per WHYY.
Amid rising gas prices due to the war in Iran, President Trump visited Pennsylvania on Wednesday and continued to claim that affordability is a “fake” issue, per the Washington Post.

(Sean Kitchen / The Keystone)

Scranton’s very own, The Menzingers, are releasing their eighth studio album, Everything I Ever Saw, on Friday, and I will be making my first pilgrimage to Asbury Park, New Jersey, for their album release party at the historic Stone Pony.

Who knows, maybe Bruce will show up?

For those who can’t make it, The Menzingers are sponsoring listening parties Friday and Saturday at local record shops across the country, including right here in Pennsylvania.