Good afternoon everyone,

Welcome to the first edition of Keystone Labor Report, a brand new newsletter where we’ll discuss labor and economic issues affecting working Pennsylvanians on the local, state, and federal levels, and hold the state’s billionaires accountable. 

You can expect this newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. 

My name is Sean Kitchen, and I’m the political correspondent with The Keystone. I’m from Philadelphia and grew up in a union household. Both of my parents are longtime union members. My dad lost his union-paying job as a forklift driver when I was in grade school, and my family felt the effects of that for decades. I grew up on the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) and Medicaid until I was in college, and that’s when I got involved in the labor movements in Pennsylvania. 

Watching renewed assaults on working people the past eight months has struck a chord with me. So this newsletter is my little act of rebellion, pushing back against the politics of the moment. This report, your stories, make me hopeful. 

Before we get started, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge a horrific accident at Clairton Coke Works, a plant owned by US Steel outside of Pittsburgh, that killed two workers and left 10 injured on Monday. These types of workplace accidents and tragedies are exactly why unions are needed to protect workers and prevent harm in the future. 

Are you a union member or just a supporter? Send me an email at seankitchen@couriernewsroom.com to let me know why you’re in a union or supporting the cause.

P.S. I’d love it if you gave this newsletter a shot, but if you’re truly not interested, no worries, just scroll down to the bottom of this email and you can update your preferences on which Keystone newsletters you receive. 

Rest stop workers along the Pennsylvania Turnpike are having their wages cut by Applegreen, the company that operates 17 plazas on the turnpike. This summer, the company replaced wages with a tip system.   

In a memo obtained by The Keystone, Applegreen informed its employees that the pay cuts were made to “better align with industry standards and provide our associates with the opportunity to earn more and be rewarded for their efforts.”

Abigail Lukehart of Bedford has been working at a turnpike rest stop plaza for almost three years, and she is leading the effort to let coworkers and customers know about these changes. She believes those cuts will hurt employees going forward.  

“It’s really just ripping us off pretty bad because we’re used to going home with maybe $20 in cash a night,” Lukehart told The Keystone. “It’s also ripping the customers off because when they tap their card and they click $2 tip, they think that they’re awarding us for our good service, but it’s just helping the company not have to pay us a livable wage.”

Samuel Jones, the executive director with the Restaurant Opportunity Center (ROC) Pennsylvania, agreed with Lukehart’s assessment and called Applegreen’s decision “an egregious abuse of power.” 

Jones also suggested that workers along the turnpike find a way to organize and push back. If they do, you can bet we’ll be the first to cover it.

(AP Photo / Gene J. Puskar)

Gov. Josh Shapiro joined Allegheny officials and US Steel and United Steel Workers leadership outside of Pittsburgh on Tuesday after the explosion at the Clairton Coke Works, which converts coal into fuel for steel production, killed two workers and injured 10 others. 

The plant, which is owned by US Steel and employs over 1,400 workers, is the largest coke-producing plant in the country and has a history of explosions and accidents, according to the Associated Press.

A worker was killed in an explosion in September 2009, and, in July 2010, another explosion injured 14 employees and six contractors. The last death to occur at the facility, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), was in 2014, when a worker was burned and died falling into a trench. 

These types of accidents and tragedies are another example of why workers need unions and safety protections on the worksite. 

If you’ve made it to the end of this newsletter, I’d love to hear your thoughts. You can reply directly to this email or drop me a line at seankitchen@couriernewsroom.com.