Good afternoon everyone, 

It’s March 5, 2026, and welcome to another edition of the Keystone Labor Report. 

One of the things that has always stuck with me since studying geography and geopolitics in college is how conflicts on local and regional scales affect things on a global scale and vice versa. 

The ongoing war in Iran is a great example of that. 

Data from AAA shows that gas prices across Pennsylvania have skyrocketed by close to 25 cents per gallon since President Donald Trump launched an attack on Iran. In his State of the Union address in front of Congress days before, Trump bragged about how gas was under $2.30 for most of the country when in reality the average gallon of gasoline was $2.98.

Former US House Rep. Conor Lamb used social media to highlight the cost of interceptor missiles used to protect American soldiers and how the cost of a single missile could fund community college for 2,500 residents or forgive the student loan debt for 375 Pennsylvanians. 

(Alex Brandon / AP Photo)

Speaking about affordability issues, lawmakers and policy experts held a press call pushing back against Trump’s claims made during the State of the Union address, which feels like it was a year ago at this point. 

Since Trump returned to office last year, energy prices for Pennsylvanians have risen by nearly 15%, costing residents $3.3 billion and food prices have increased by 3.1% between Dec. 2024 and Dec. 2025. 

“ In the State of the Union, President Trump painted a picture of falling prices, rising prosperity, and an economy stronger than ever. But for many Pennsylvanians and families across the commonwealth, that is simply not the reality they are experiencing,” Felicity Williams, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Policy Center, said during a press conference on Tuesday. 

“ What the data shows is a persistent affordability squeeze affecting households across the commonwealth even though inflation has slowed from its peak, prices remain significantly higher than they were just a few years ago.”

(Matt Rourke / AP Photo)

In a move that shocked essentially no one, US Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) was the only Democrat that voted against curbing Trump’s war in Iran on Wednesday, but one concerning thing is how Fetterman lashed out at a Zeteo News journalist following the vote. 

You can watch the exchange here. 

Instead of answering Prem Thakker’s questions, Fetterman, who routinely appears on Fox News and other right-wing media outlets, accused Medhi Hasan, an English-born journalist and founder of Zeteo News, of being an Ayatollah supporter. 

“I want to offer condolences to your boss. I know he’s all broke up about the Ayatollah,” Fetterman said. 

Putting aside the optics of accusing a Muslim journalist of being an Ayatollah supporter, this clip offers insight to who Fetterman is when he steps outside of his echo chamber and has to face questions from actual reporters.