Good afternoon everyone,

Welcome to the latest edition of the Keystone Labor Report, where this week, we’re  looking into Republican US Rep. Rob Bresnahan’s rolodex of billionaire donors – and trust me, it’s a lot. On another note, we’ll also check in with the nurses in the Pittsburgh area who are sticking it to the man despite President Donald Trump’s anti-union National Labor Relations Board. 

I don’t want to jinx anything with this beautiful weather rolling through South Central Pennsylvania, but it feels like fall and the start of the football season will be here before we know it. 

Since moving to Harrisburg a little more 10-and-a-half years ago, this season is always my favorite with the leaves changing and the Susquehanna River flowing a couple of hundred feet from my front door. 

Drop me a line at seankitchen@couriernewsroom.com and tell me what’s some of your favorite activities to do once summer cools off and fall arrives.

(Graphic: Desiree Tapia / Photo: Bill Clark CQ-Roll Call, via Getty Images) 

Billionaire donors are coming to US Rep. Rob Bresnahan’s (R-Lackawanna) aid as the freshman Congressman has found himself embroiled in controversies since taking office in January. 

Campaign finance reports reveal that 20 billionaires have donated to Bresnahan throughout the year, and they include investment bankers, casino magnates and a philanthropist with ties to Russian oligarchs. 

This is just the latest in a series of embarrassing stories involving Bresnahan and his personal wealth over the last few months. 

Since January, Bresnahan has become one of the most prolific stock traders in Congress despite campaigning on banning Congressional stock trading. He has profited off the sales of certain stocks tied to the passage of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act. 

All of this is happening while Bresnahan’s district, which is one of the poorest in Pennsylvania, will be one of the hardest hit by Trump’s budget cuts. Over 21,000 of his constituents are expected to lose their health care coverage thanks to the $1 trillion cut to Medicaid, while 11,500 could lose their benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

(Photo courtesy of SEIU Healthcare PA)

Close to 1,000 nurses at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Magee-Womens Hospital started voting on Tuesday Aug. 19 to decide whether or not they will join Service Employees International Union Healthcare Pennsylvania (SEIU HCPA) — the largest health care union in Pennsylvania. The vote runs through Aug. 23.

The nurses started organizing over inadequate staffing levels, overwork and an opaque pay and benefits system in 2024. They completed the petition process for a union election at the end of May. 

“I’m passionate about providing the best quality care for my patients,” said Celia Emmons, a lactation consultant at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. “We want to have a seat at the table, to have input when decisions are made.”

(Photo: Sean Kitchen)

Pennsylvania Republican State Treasurer Stacy Garrity launched her gubernatorial campaign against Gov. Josh Shapiro for next year’s election. But you shouldn’t expect to see many unions lining up behind and supporting Garrity.

Leaders with the Philadelphia Building Trades and the Laborers International Union of North America (LiUNA), over the past month, are embracing Shapiro as we move closer to the 2026 general election. 

While Democrats may have struggled with union voters, splitting their votes with President Donald Trump the last three presidential elections, Shapiro carried union members against State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin) by a 22 point margin in the last governor’s race. 

Feel free to email me at seankitchen@couriernewsroom.com if you have any tips or events that you may have interest in covering.