News & Brews June 11, 2025
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On labor policy, Pa. ranks a low 33rd
When it comes to “fostering a labor policy landscape that promotes flexibility and removes barriers to help individuals access work and thrive on the job,” Pennsylvania comes in at a low 33rd, per a new report from the American Legislative Exchange Council. The report, “The States that Work,” ranks states based on 10 labor policy reforms, including right to work, occupational licensing review, and a prohibition on using tax dollars to fund work done for unions.
Dugan won Philly’s GOP primary–will he accept?
It’s now all but official. Democrat Patrick Dugan secured enough Republican primary write-in votes to be the party’s nominee for District Attorney. The Inquirer reports that Dugan “earned 6,167 Republican write-in votes, six times the number needed to earn a spot on the November ballot, according to a report by the Philadelphia City Commissioners, the board that runs the city’s elections.” Dugan, who lost the Democrat primary to incumbent DA Larry Krasner, had previously said he would not accept the GOP nomination to run against Krasner. “His campaign did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday night about whether that remains the case.”
Fetterman criticizes Dems on L.A. violence
Democrat U.S. Sen. John Fetterman is harshly criticizing fellow Democrats for their refusal to condemn the ongoing L.A. violence. “I unapologetically stand for free speech, peaceful demonstrations, and immigration—but this is not that,” Fetterman posted. “This is anarchy and true chaos. My party loses the moral high ground when we refuse to condemn setting cars on fire, destroying buildings, and assaulting law enforcement.” This, of course, is hardly the first time Fetterman has been at odds with his party.
Moreno hits back in Allegheny County GOP feud
Yesterday, I shared that story that the Pittsburgh and Allegheny County GOP committees would not be supporting Republican Tony Moreno in the Pittsburgh mayor’s race after a Facebook post Moreno made. But the Post-Gazette reports that “Moreno said there was never any support to begin with.” He stated, “The Republican Committee of Allegheny County did nothing to help me. They have no respect for the work that we did here.” And although the Republican committees had claimed Moreno’s Facebook post amounted to a resignation from the party committee, he said he did not resign. Meanwhile, Moreno also “claimed that he couldn’t get any of the ‘Republican money’ because the donors had all already ‘made deals with Corey O’Connor.’“ Democrat O’Connor challenged Mayor Ed Gainey in the Democrat primary, and won.
Pa. Dems latest try at minimum wage hike is … odd
Democrats have been trying for years to hike Pennsylvania’s minimum wage, despite concerns that it would kill jobs for those making minimum wage. Now, the Dems are trying a new tactic. Instead of a uniform law across the state, they want to increase the minimum wage by different amounts “in different counties based on population and establish regular cost-of-living adjustments,” PennLive reports. As one GOP rep pointed out, some Pa. boroughs straddle two counties, so that would be confusing. (Of course, if Dems like basing things on population, they should support the Taxpayer Protection Act, which would limit spending growth based on inflation and population growth.)