MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR
Happy holidays! Here’s the update for this week, we will now be on a break until the New Year. All the best to you and yours.
In Solidarity,
Stephen Herzenberg
Executive Director
Pivoting to a Moral Pittsburgh Economy: New Mayor, New Opportunities
Rep. Grove’s Congressional Maps Are Just More Gerrymandering
The PA Department of Labor and Industry’s Newly Proposed Minimum Wage Regulations: An Explainer
Join Us As We Celebrate the 12 Days of Build Back Better!
Senate Bill 106 Is Legislative Tyranny in Action
TAKE ACTION
Voice Your Support to Boost Workers’ Pay! Submit Your Comment to the Department of Labor & Industry in Support of Proposed New Regulations
In late November, the PA Department of Labor & Industry announced proposed regulations regarding tipped work and fluctuating workweek schedules in Pennsylvania. These key regulation changes would change how workers are paid by updating the long-outdated definitions of who qualifies as a tipped employee, clarifying who is allowed to be in a tip pool, stopping employers from taking tips from workers to pay credit card transaction fees, and ensuring salaried employees are paid more fairly.
Read more in detail about the proposed regulation changes here.
Pennsylvanians can provide public comments on the proposed changes by the deadline of Monday, December 20, as part of the formal regulatory review process required before the proposed changes can go into effect. The last day to submit comments is Monday, December 20, so act now to add your voice!
Click here to submit your comments.
Welcome, Sandy!

Please join us in welcoming Sandy LoMonico, our new organizing associate!
IN THE NEWS
Renters in parts of Pa. shut out of rent relief as counties elsewhere sit on millions in unused aid
WHYY | 12/8/21
“Now, tenant advocates worry, renters still struggling with pandemic debts and a persistent shortage of safe and affordable housing have lost a crucial source of aid, even as millions of rent relief dollars sit unspent in other parts of the state.”
Plan for congressional districts puts Indiana in new 12th District
“Grove’s plan met with immediate condemnation by the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center.
PBPC Director Marc Stier said it is ‘nothing more than continued gerrymandering … to benefit the Republican Party and called on Gov. Wolf to veto it if it reaches his desk.’
PBPC calls itself ‘a nonpartisan, statewide policy research project of the Keystone Research Center,’ in turn an avowed ‘collaborative effort of Pennsylvania citizens drawn from academia, labor, religious, and business organizations.’
PA’s School Funding Trial Gives Snapshot of State’s Underfunded Districts
“Susan Spicka, executive director of Education Voters of Pennsylvania, said as a result of receiving less funding from the state, districts are expected to rely on support locally through property taxes. But she pointed out it can be a challenge, as evidenced by last week’s testimony from Greater Johnstown Superintendent Amy Arcurio, who said the most recent property tax increase led to less funding for the district than before.’State lawmakers for years have said everything that is going on in our school districts is the result of local decision-making,’ Spicka observed. ‘This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to break this logjam in Harrisburg that has allowed the legislature to continually underfund their schools.'”