Good afternoon everyone,

The day most of us have been waiting for is finally here: the start of the 2025 National Football League season. 

Congratulations to the Dallas Cowboys, because they will be watching a championship banner get raised for the first time in nearly 30 years – and yes, I am old enough to remember the last time the Cowboys won a Super Bowl – as they take on the Philadelphia Eagles at the Linc later this evening. 

Now that’s out of the way, I would like to thank all of you for subscribing and supporting the Keystone Labor Report in our first month. We hit a major milestone over the past week and now have over 10,000 subscribers. Thanks for reading!

To keep this momentum going, I am asking you to share this newsletter with your friends, family members, coworkers, and fellow union brothers and sisters and encourage them to sign up. 

(Photo: Scott Fisher) 

Everyone has the right to join a union and collectively bargain for better benefits, better wages and better working conditions—that includes the budtenders selling you your medical marijuana. 

Workers represented by Teamsters Local 776 at the Rise medical marijuana dispensary in Manchester Township walked off the job on Labor Day seeking higher wages and better benefits.

The Teamsters filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against Green Thumb Industries, Rise’s parent company, for refusing to bargain and bargain in good faith with their employees.

(Photo: Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)

Parents across Pennsylvania may be feeling some sticker shock as they get ready to send their kids back to school this month. 

A new report issued by Affordable Pennsylvania looks at how much families in the state’s congressional districts held by three vulnerable Republicans have to pay for back-to-school supplies and some of the results may be shocking. 

“As their children return to school, Trump’s tariffs are increasing the financial burden on working families in Pennsylvania,” Rachele Fortier, executive director for Affordable Pennsylvania, said in a statement.

“Congressmen Mackenzie, Bresnahan, and Perry have promised their constituents they would fight for lower costs, but instead they’re falling in line to cut critical assistance programs and support Trump’s extreme tariffs. We urge these congressmen to listen to their constituents about the rising costs of education and stand up to Trump for lower costs.”

(Photo: AP Photo / Matt Rourke)

The ongoing public transit crisis in Pennsylvania is a personal issue for me because I am a product of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). 

I grew up in Philadelphia and took a bus, “The El”–the elevated subway line that connects Northeast and West Philadelphia–and the subway to go to high school in Center City Philadelphia. 

Sitting or standing next to people from all walks of life in packed trains on a day-to-day basis is an experience not many people have, and Pennsylvania Senate Republicans are in the process of dismantling this important piece of public infrastructure, because they don’t feel it is in their interest to fund public transportation. 

Pennsylvania House Democrats have passed a smorgasbord of legislation that would make those going to Shady Maple jealous, but Senate Republicans have refused to pass any funding bills or include funding in their budget proposal.

As always, feel free to email me at seankitchen@couriernewsroom.com if you have any tips or events that you may have interest in covering.