Posts tagged Josh Shapiro
THE BLUE DIVIDE
August 13, 2025 // The documents are an incomplete and opaque window into the finances for the Survivors’ Fund and Lodge 5, which are both 501(c) nonprofits. Another FOP nonprofit, the Home Association, operates the 7C Lounge, an expansive bar decorated in gleaming dark wood in the union’s 50,000-square-foot headquarters. A comprehensive financial picture of the nonprofits would be possible only by examining all credit card statements, receipts, and records. Those records are not publicly available, and even union members say FOP leaders have only allowed them to view a limited selection of documents.
We finally know who paid for Josh Shapiro’s inauguration celebrations (kinda)
August 12, 2025 // A fundraising pitch prepared by Shapiro’s inauguration committee and reviewed by Spotlight PA promised high-dollar contributors face time with the governor. “VIP tickets to the Inaugural Celebration include access to the VIP lounge through the evening,” fine print on the document states. “A clutch with Governor-Elect Shapiro and Lt. Governor-Elect [Austin] Davis will be held in the VIP lounge at the start of the event.” Unlike some states, cities, and the federal government, Pennsylvania does not require top elected officials to disclose who contributes to celebrations held to mark their entrance into office. Shapiro has declined to do so voluntarily.
Liya Palagashvili: The Portable Benefits Revolution: How Did We Get Here?
May 1, 2025 // Senator Bill Cassidy just put flexible benefits on the map. This is the story of how a niche policy idea climbed to the top of the Congressional agenda.
SEPTA and unions reach contract agreement, avoiding a strike in the Philadelphia region
November 21, 2024 // SEPTA and the unions representing suburban and city transit workers have come to a tentative 1-year agreement, avoiding a transit strike in the Philadelphia region. Action News has learned Wednesday that the agreement includes a 5% wage increase, as well as a pension increase. However, there were no concessions to healthcare. They also made "significant improvements" in safety, including a pilot program on eight buses for bulletproof enclosures around drivers.
Unions pursue law changes to boost membership
September 8, 2024 // “The overarching theme is that the unions have really responded to the membership losses since JANUS to drive up union membership,” Osborne said. In the JANUS decision, courts held that unions could no longer collect “fair share” dues from non-members who benefit from collective bargaining agreements. Follow-up litigation has challenged the cumbersome process many former members had to overcome to leave the union and recoup dues improperly withheld. In the report, states known as union “strongholds” scored lower than others that have enacted collective bargaining reforms.
Josh Shapiro rescued me from Soviet antisemitism, can continue fighting for Jews – opinion
August 15, 2024 // How can a union that broadcasts its hatred for Jews also negotiate in my best interests? The idea is absurd to me, and I’m far from alone. Public employees throughout New York and across the country are, likewise, unable to represent themselves or choose a different representative no matter what their union says or does in their name. But in America, the First Amendment protects our rights of free speech and association. So, I joined with five of my colleagues, four of whom are also Jews, to file a lawsuit to gain complete freedom from a union we see as antisemitic. Now, the US Supreme Court will soon decide whether to hear our case.
Democratic Governors Association, chaired by Tim Walz, involved in alleged union laundering scheme
August 7, 2024 // One of the three complaints, filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, and the Dauphin County District attorney accuses the Walz-chaired DGA of failing to report receipt of significant contributions from PSEA’s political fund in violation of Pennsylvania’s Election Code. The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office has confirmed that the complaint has been forwarded to its Criminal Division for “further review.” If confirmed, the alleged violations may result in civil fines or criminal prosecution of PSEA and/or DGA officials.
Opinion: UAW’s President Shares Union’s VP Wish List, and It Conflicts With Likely Kamala Pick Shapiro
August 5, 2024 // After a notable moment of dead air, Fain explained that the UAW has "really broken down these candidates, looked at them." Who is the top favorite? Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, who, the union organizer pointed out, has walked the picket line with UAW, like lame duck Pres. Biden. He also gushed about the Bluegrass state progressive governor's ability to win reelection in a "traditionally" red state: He's been with us through every bit of our walk, and he's won in a state that [former Senate Majority Leader, GOP Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell is from. It's been a red state traditionally. He's won twice there.
Teacher’s Union Accused Of Laundering $1.5 Million To Bankroll Josh Shapiro’s Campaign
July 25, 2024 // The Freedom Foundation filed three complaints that allege the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) illegally laundered and sent $1.5 million to fund Shapiro’s campaign, according to a press release by Freedom Foundation. The complaints were filed with various parties in Pennsylvania, including the FBI and IRS, as Shapiro has emerged as a contender to become Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. “PSEA’s scheme to secretly launder nearly $1.5 million in members’ dues through the Democratic Governors Association to support Josh Shapiro’s 2022 candidacy appears to have violated both an array of Pennsylvania laws and the Internal Revenue Code,” Freedom Foundation Director of Research and Government Affairs Maxford Nelsen said in the press release.
PA Union’s Vendetta Against School Choice Isn’t Afraid of Jay-Z
June 25, 2024 // Jay-Z’s pro-voucher push has included information sessions and a widespread advertising campaign to mobilize Pennsylvanians in support of educational choice. According to representatives from Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, the rapper became committed to the voucher issue not only through his longtime initiative to fund college scholarships, but also thanks to his familiarity with Pennsylvania. Not even Jay-Z, however, is immune to AFT’s onslaught. On June 7, AFT Pennsylvania tweeted a clear-cut message in response to the musician’s campaign: “This ain’t it.” Union president Arthur Steinberg reemphasized AFT’s intransigence three days later: “The crisis in public education funding in America could have been solved a long time ago if billionaires like … Jay-Z simply paid their fair share in taxes instead of robbing needed money from public schools to fund failed voucher schemes which hurt poor kids.”