Good afternoon everyone,

And welcome back to another edition of the Keystone Labor Report. 

With the federal government shutdown nearing one month, Saturday, Nov. 1, marks a turning point for how things will play out going forward. 

Here’s a quick rundown of what to expect.

👉 Over 40 million Americans across the country, including 2 million in Pennsylvania, will have their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits frozen because President Donald Trump’s administration is withholding contingency funding to keep the program running. 

👉 Gov. Josh Shapiro is among the two dozen Democratic governors or attorneys general that are suing the Trump administration to release the funding. Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity proposed floating a loan upwards of $300 million to keep SNAP afloat for the next month, but that comes with a price tag amid the ongoing budget stalemate. 

👉 Health care premiums for close to 500,000 Pennie customers are set to skyrocket for 2026because Republicans in Congress are refuse to extend ACA tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of year. This is the reason for the government shutdown.

👉 Additionally, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services announced that they are delaying Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) payments for 300,000 families by one month due to the ongoing federal shutdown. 

(Photo: Sean Kitchen)

Close to 200 Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) faculty members, students, and union supporters attended a rally outside of the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex Tuesday evening with the hope of bringing the faculty’s prolonged contract fight to an end. 

Professors and faculty members at HACC have gone more than 40 months without a raise or a contract since they voted to unionize in April 2022, and they are prepared to strike after this week’s bargaining session ended without a compromise. 

(Video: Sean Kitchen)

HACC’s Board of Trustees approved pay raises for some employees over the previous three years, but the administration has refused to give raises to unionized professors and faculty members. 

State Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El (D-Lancaster) summed it up perfectly.

“What was communicated to me about how negotiations have broken down, about how we have gotten this close to a strike was this.  Yes, it’s about the money. It’s about how much you are compensated, but really it’s about the disrespect of every other employee getting raises while you stand pat for three years because the administration wants to punish you for using your constitutional right to form a union,” Smith-Wade-El told the faculty members.

(Photo: Beasley Media Group)

It was heartbreaking to hear about the sudden passing of longtime WMMR radio host Pierre Robert, 70, on Wednesday. 

He spent 44 years on the air at WMMR, and aside from being an iconic Philadelphia radio host, Robert was one of the nicest and most down to Earth people you could imagine. 

There are countless stories about his generosity flowing on social media at the moment, and he will be missed in Philadelphia.