In Pennsylvania and across the country, Saturday is National Postal Worker Day, celebrated annually to show appreciation for postal workers.

The people who move the mail play a vital role in communication for the public, said Kim Miller, president of the Keystone Area Local chapter of the American Postal Workers Union. Snow, sleet, rain and a pandemic didn't stop them from delivering mail and packages, from rural America to the inner cities, she said, but like many employers, the Postal Service is facing challenges.

"What would be beneficial - because the mail volumes are slow due to COVID and people finding different means to utilize service and pay their bills - is to start mailing again," she said. "We need the revenue, we need the volume, because a lot of people's jobs rely on the service."

Miller said Saturday is also a day to say thanks to postal workers and acknowledge the effort it takes to process millions of packages and letters a month. In Pennsylvania, she said, the Postal Service is still experiencing a worker shortage and local post offices are looking to hire more people.

Miller referred to the types of jobs as "craft," and said there are plenty of openings for people who pass the tests.

"They're hiring in Reading. They're hiring in different craft; the carrier craft, they're always hiring - the retention is a little bit difficult," she said. "Maintenance craft - reaching out to veterans to get veterans preferences. While they're deployed, they have a right to take any test that was given while under deployment."

Miller said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's 10-year plan to move letter sorting and distribution from the local offices into large regional hubs is going to affect people in Pennsylvania.

American Postal Workers Union President Mark Dimondstein said more than 600,000 people work for the Postal Service. He said the recognition this weekend is "wonderful," but noted the current staffing shortages are having consequences, both for workers and customers in small rural communities.

"Smaller towns, the post offices tend to be staffed with less people, so you may only have one or two people already," he said. "If you have this turnover, people are constantly left without enough clerks to take care of their postal business."

He said his union would like to see the Postal Service expand its range to offer more services at post office locations, from banking and bill-paying to voter registration or issuing fishing and hunting licenses.

As Pennsylvania voters head to the polls Tuesday, a new report takes a deep dive into how the economic policies of former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris would affect Pennsylvania families.

The report showed the two campaigns differ significantly on policies proven to affect inequality, like labor unions, the minimum wage and taxation.

Gillian Kratzer, deputy director of the advocacy group Better PA, said when comparing a possible Harris administration to a potential Trump administration, you have to consider Project 2025, as the Trump campaign has remained silent on many key policy issues, such as minimum wage.

"The Democratic platform, which Kamala Harris endorses, proposes to enact a federal minimum wage of $15 an hour by 2026," Kratzer pointed out. "The phrase minimum wage is not in the Republican platform. It's not mentioned by the Trump campaign, and it's not in Project 2025 either."

A recent Gallup poll showed 70% of Americans support labor unions. Kratzer noted while the Republican platform and Project 2025 do not address unions broadly, they advocate removing union rights for national security-related jobs and question the role of public sector unions altogether.

Kratzer added the report compares the tax policies of Trump and Harris, highlighting how extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts would benefit the wealthy, while higher import tariffs and a lower corporate tax rate would mostly burden Pennsylvania's everyday consumers.

"Kamala Harris supports tax proposals that benefit families and workers raising children to pay for health care and housing affordability," Kratzer observed. "She wants to reform Medicare to raise taxes on those with incomes over $400,000. Where Donald Trump, we're looking at, you know, policies that would help basically the top 5%."

The report also found the Democratic platform supports attaching strong labor standards, such as prevailing wage laws and project labor agreements, to federal infrastructure and climate investments. Meanwhile, Project 2025 favors eliminating prevailing wage laws and use of project labor agreements on federally funded construction projects.

More than 500 Missouri businesses are rallying for Proposition A, pushing for a $15 per hour minimum wage and paid sick leave by 2026.

Backed by the group Missouri Business for a Healthy Economy, Proposition A plans to raise the minimum wage to $13.75 an hour next year and $15 by 2026, with additional annual cost-of-living adjustments. Tipped workers must earn at least half the minimum rate, plus tips.

Andi Montee, owner of the Mokaska Coffee Shop in St. Joseph, believes the wage increase would enhance Missouri's appeal.

"Having that standard and that security is just really important for people to look at Missouri for one as a place where they could live, where they could stay," Montee asserted. "Especially for young people who often times want to kind of move outside of the places they might have grown up in."

Not everyone is on board with the increase. Business groups like the Missouri Chamber of Commerce warned higher wages and required paid sick leave could increase costs, leading some businesses to cut staff, reduce hours or raise prices.

Despite the concerns, Missouri's minimum wage keeps rising, set at $12 in 2023 and adjusted to $12.30 in 2024. Montee believes higher wages for employees benefit employers as well.

"We will fight tooth and nail to keep our staff kind of working there, because training somebody is difficult, it costs money and it has all kinds of things that pop up in the long term," Montee outlined. "We feel pretty strongly that having that higher minimum wage is really a mutually beneficial thing."

Still, critics of the increase do not believe employers will benefit at all, contending it could harm young and entry-level workers, who might see fewer job openings as businesses face rising costs.


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A meeting last week between the Board of Education and its teachers' union in one Illinois town has left one group unhappy.

Members have voiced their displeasure with what it views as a lack of urgency in negotiations for better pay and more support. Contracts for the Meridian Federation of Teachers in Macon expired in August. Seventy teachers who are part of the bargaining unit have met with the board only six times since June.

Brian Pekovitch, teacher and president of the union, said they are seeking a resolution.

"We have another session planned with the mediator on Wednesday," Pekovitch noted. "We're very hopeful that we will be able to resolve these differences and come to an agreement to avoid a strike. That's the absolute last resort that we want to have happen."

Ninety-two percent of voting members of the union agreed last week to authorize a strike if more substantial progress is not made. The district has had difficulties even attracting substitute teachers for the school year. According to the education site niche.com, Macon County's teacher-to-student ratio is 14-1.

Pekovitch praised the support of parents and argued teachers are shouldering more than what their job description requires, which is taking a toll. He acknowledged teaching has changed from pre-pandemic days causing classrooms to struggle to meet students' needs. The union wants teachers to stay in the district and not seek higher salaries elsewhere.

"Our biggest thing has been just teacher retention," Pekovitch explained. "There's a problem with our pay when you're looking at teachers that have longevity in the district. Once you've been here longer, if you have higher education, there's just some gaps in there that we're trying to close to keep our more experienced teachers here."

Niche.com indicates the average teacher salary in the district is around $56,000. Pekovitch added the mindset that nice schools and newer technology alone would attract people to want to be in Macon "is just not the case anymore." The Meridian Community Unit School District serves a little more than 900 students in grades pre-K through 12.


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