These Pa. workers soured on Trump’s tariffs

October 15, 2026

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Good afternoon everyone,

It’s Thursday, Oct. 15, and welcome back to another edition of the Keystone Labor Report. You can find last week’s edition here.

We are 19 days away from the 2026 election, and one thing that caught my eye over the past week was the Philadelphia Democratic Committee’s fall dinner that featured Gov. Josh Shapiro, former President Joe Biden, and Eagles Chief Security Officer Domenico “Big Dom” DiSandro.

Big Dom’s appearance went viral as he was pictured on stage with Bob Brady, the Philadelphia Democratic Party Chair, and other elected officials.

Sean Kitchen

Political Correspondent, The Keystone

(AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Recent polling has shown that the economy and rising prices are some of the top concerns among Pennsylvania voters going into the 2026 election. Workers at one Bloomsburg manufacturing plant are reconsidering their support for President Donald Trump and the Republican Party after tariffs impacted their jobs.

Post Holdings, which manufactures pet food, laid off 160 employees after Trump announced his tariffs last year. Wendell Young, President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 1776, explained how he went from getting political push back from members to none at all.

“People used to beat me up for not supporting Trump. I haven’t heard that in a year,” Young told the Associated Press. “Some of these people are red Republicans and they are shocked. They expected more jobs.”

Skilled games, the slot-like gaming machines that proliferated in gas stations and convenience stores across the commonwealth over the past decade, are illegal as of this week. Here’s a breakdown of what happens next, per the USA Today network.
Skilled games, the slot-like gaming machines that proliferated in gas stations and convenience stores across the commonwealth over the past decade, are illegal as of this week. Here’s a breakdown of what happens next, per the USA Today network.
The Chesapeake Bay gets a C+ in overall health, its highest score in over 20 years, per the Penn. Capital Star.

(Sean Kitchen / The Keystone)

Earlier this year, we reported on Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity (R) receiving an endorsement from an anti-union organization that backs right-to-work laws across the country. On Tuesday, she publicly touted another endorsement from an anti-worker organization.

Garrity was endorsed by the National Federation of Independent Business Pennsylvania PAC, the NFIB’s political action committee in Pennsylvania.

On the federal level, the NFIB opposes to the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which makes it easier for workers to form unions and expand collective bargaining rights, and at the state level, the organization opposes increasing the minimum wage, providing unpaid leave so parents can attend school functions, and the four-day work week.