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Looking back: How Trump’s economic policies affected Pennsylvania in 2025

December 18, 2025

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Good evening,

And welcome back to the Keystone Labor Report.

In today’s edition, we’re going to take a look at President Donald Trump’s economic record in Pennsylvania for 2025 and how Geisinger Lewistown Hospital workers in Mifflin County are raising awareness about their low wages during the holiday season.

Also, one Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to take action after Instacart used artificial intelligence to charge customers different prices for groceries.

Sean Kitchen,

Political Correspondent, The Keystone

(Matt Rourke / AP Photo)

Vice President JD Vance visited the Lehigh Valley on Friday and reiterated President Donald Trump’s talking point that the American economy is as strong as ever and deserves an “A++++” rating.

However, I have a hunch that Pennsylvania families may say something different given the increases at supermarkets, toy stores, and gift shops this holiday season.

“Trump promised to lower costs for Pennsylvania families on Day One, but he’s done the opposite. Trump has spent his first year wining and dining CEOs and billionaires while skyrocketing costs, killing jobs, steering our economy toward recession, and kicking millions of Americans off their health care,” Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement.

You can read more about how Pennsylvanians fared Trump’s economy in 2025 below.

(Photo provided by SEIU Healthcare Pa)

Now that the holiday season is in full swing, hospital workers from the Geisinger Lewistown Hospital found a fun and creative way to tell their bosses that they want better wages and a fair contract.

A group of workers, who are members with SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, delivered Christmas cards and flowers to Geisinger executives asking them to reflect on the holiday season and value the workers who keep the hospital running.

Geisinger employees make a little over $15 per hour while the CEO of Kaiser-Permanente, which owns Geisinger, made close to $13 million in 2023.

“Poverty wages are not only hurting us, but also our community. It is extremely difficult to recruit and retain staff, making it hard to provide the care our patients deserve. To fill in these staffing gaps and make enough to survive, many of us work 60 hours or more a week,” their Christmas cards read.

Three vulnerable US House Republicans from Pennsylvania joined Democrats and signed a discharge petition on Wednesday to force a vote on the extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of this month.
Speaking of vulnerable lawmakers, US House Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Luzerne) signed onto a petition limiting congressional stock trading. This comes after Bresnahan made over 600 stock trades in 2025, becoming one of the most prolific stock traders in Congress.
Agora Cyber Charter School voted to lay off over 150 employees on Monday after Pennsylvania lawmakers passed a series of accountability and financial reforms for cyber charter schools.

(T. Schnider / Shutterstock)

Instacart is facing backlash after a study released by Groundwork Collaborative, Consumer Reports, and More Perfect Union found that the company is using artificial intelligence to charge customers different prices for the same groceries and related products.

State Sen. Lindsey Williams (D-Allegheny) announced after the release of the report that she intends to introduce legislation that bans this type of pricing in Pennsylvania.

“Families are already facing higher than ever prices at the grocery store, and now greedy corporations are using AI and personal information to manipulate them into paying more than their neighbor,” Williams said in a statement. “A billionaire owned corporation deciding that you can pay more for basic necessities based on your harvested personal data is not how we do business in Pennsylvania.”