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KDKA Investigates: SEIU Healthcare’s influence over Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration

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KDKA Investigates: SEIU Healthcare’s influence over Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration


PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Who’s operating the town of Pittsburgh: Mayor Ed Gainey or SEIU Healthcare?

The well being care union spent a whole bunch of hundreds of {dollars} to get the mayor elected. A union vice chairman co-chaired his transition committee, and different former union officers now maintain key positions in his administration.

The query is, is SEIU Healthcare truly dictating coverage, orchestrating a battle with UPMC by demanding the hospital large enable the union to characterize its well being care staff?

KDKA-TV obtained emails to attempt to shed some gentle.

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Allegheny County Govt Wealthy Fitzgerald attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the brand new 17-story, $1.6 billion UPMC Presbyterian Hospital Tower, a challenge which can convey hundreds of development and everlasting jobs to the town.

“All the parents who will come collectively to construct this over the subsequent couple of years, and the roles that will probably be created right here,” Fitzgerald added on the groundbreaking on June 14, 2022.

Then-gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro attended the occasion, however conspicuously absent was Gainey, who since turning into mayor, has declined to attend all UPMC occasions. This consists of the position of the ultimate beam on the new UPMC Mercy Hospital, one other indication of dangerous blood between the town and the area’s largest employer.

“At present, I’m signing an govt order directing my regulation and finance division to conduct a evaluate of properties owned by organizations claiming tax exemption primarily based on their charitable standing,” Gainey stated at a press convention on Jan. 24, 2023.

After taking workplace, Mayor Gainey had promised to fulfill with UPMC and the three different main non-profits — Pitt, Carnegie Mellon College and Allegheny Well being Community — to barter PILOTS (funds to the town in lieu of taxes), however as an alternative, he is now difficult the tax-exempt standing of their particular person properties.

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“We’re right here to guard the taxpayer and make it possible for everyone pays their fair proportion,” stated Mayor Gainey.

A number of sources inform KDKA-TV talks between the town of Pittsburgh and UPMC broke down, not over cash, however over Mayor Gainey’s demand that UPMC enable SEIU Healthcare to characterize its well being care staff, leaving a $40 million dedication from UPMC on the desk.

KDKA-TV requested Lisa Frank, the chief working and administrative officer for the town of Pittsburgh, if the town demanded that UPMC enable the union at Presbyterian Hospital and all through its system as a part of these negotiations.

“The mayor, I believe , has all the time been on the facet of staff,” Frank stated in response. 

SEIU Healthcare has tried unsuccessfully to unionize these staff for greater than a decade and two years in the past grew to become the first backer of Mayor Gainey’s election marketing campaign. Based on marketing campaign finance filings, it spent greater than $350,000 to elect Gainey, greater than all different contributors mixed.

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In flip, Gainey appointed SEIU vice chairman and political director Silas Russel to co-chair his transition committee and named others to key spots in his administration — former SEIU Healthcare communications director Maria Montaño is his press secretary and the union’s former vice chairman Lisa Frank is now the town’s chief working and administrative officer.

“The union’s job is the union’s job. The mayor’s job is the mayor’s job,” stated Frank when requested if the mayor is doing the union’s bidding.

Whereas Frank was evasive, the mayor’s press secretary issued this assertion denying the mayor demanded an SEIU union at his assembly with UPMC CEO Leslie Davis in June of 2022:

“The mayor has lengthy been a supporter of the appropriate of working individuals to return collectively for aa union and a voice at work … In a gathering with UPMC, he requested them to take a seat down and take heed to their staff, nonetheless, he has not made any calls for.”

The outcomes of a KDKA Investigates Proper to Know Request inform a unique story. Within the days earlier than the assembly, there’s a flurry of emails between native SEIU Healthcare head Russell and administration higher-ups making ready the mayor’s speaking factors. They make express calls for for a union with Russell truly dictating a lot of these factors.

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“You (Mayor Gainey) need to have the ability to have a partnership with UPMC, to collaborate with them on main improvement and social initiatives within the metropolis … Earlier than that’s doable nonetheless, you (Davis) have to decide to: A good election association with SEIU to convey an finish to the lengthy and contentious dispute between UPMC and its frontline staff.”  

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After reviewing the primary draft, Russell affords extra factors resembling: “You additionally imagine that the workforce disaster in healthcare is so urgent we can not afford to see continued battle and disruption.” That are added verbatim to the ultimate preparation notes then despatched to the mayor.

Sources say UPMC rejected the demand, telling the mayor they’re prepared to debate funds lieu of taxes however not their inside labor relations.

The 2 sides haven’t met since. UPMC declined remark, however in an announcement, Russell defended SEIU Healthcare’s affect saying, “Each well being care employee ought to have the power to kind a union … we predict each elected official must be working to carry UPMC accountable and guarantee hospital staff have a voice at work.”

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Pittsburg, PA

Pirates Pitcher Paul Skenes’ Best Performance Revealed

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Pirates Pitcher Paul Skenes’ Best Performance Revealed


Paul Skenes was nothing short of dominant for the Pittsburgh Pirates en route to winning the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year.

But even in a season full of special performances from the first overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, one performance stood out above the rest for the Pirates. MLB.com picked the best performance for every team in the 2024 season and tabbed his performance against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 11 as Pittsburgh’s best. Skenes pitched 7 no-hit innings and struck out 11 batters while walking just one on 99 pitches in a 1-0 win over the eventual NL Central champions.

“Skenes had otherworldly expectations coming into 2024, but few could have expected him to dominate the way he did out of the gate, earning an All-Star nod after just 10 Major League starts,” Stumpf writes. “His 11th start made it clear that he was already one of the game’s best, striking out 11 over seven innings of no-hit ball. Skenes walked and hit a batter in the second, his lone blemishes as he would go on to retire the last 16 Brewers he faced. The Pirates would go on to win, 1-0, and Skenes was named the National League’s starting pitcher the next day.

The only trouble Skenes had came in the second inning with two outs when he hit Brewers Jake Bauers and walked Garrett Mitchell. The Pirates ace escaped the jam by striking out Andruw Monasterio and Skenes sat down the next 15 batters he faced, including seven via strikeout, to end his outing.

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Skenes’ outing against the Brewers marked the second time he exited a game without allowing a single hit. He also accomplished the feat on May 17 in the second start of his big league career when he pitched 6 shutout innings, struck out 11 and walked 1 batter against the Chicago Cubs to earn the first win of his career.

Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates



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Beaver County woman selected as Pittsburgh Steelers nominee for 2024 NFL Changemakers

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Beaver County woman selected as Pittsburgh Steelers nominee for 2024 NFL Changemakers


PITTSBURGH — Chippewa Township resident Carolina Frantz was recently recognized as the Pittsburgh Steelers nominee for the 2024 NFL Changemakers. 

The National Football League and the Pittsburgh Steelers have worked together to showcase local leaders who are making a difference in their communities during the NFL’s Inspire Change Weeks since 2017. 

“It is exciting and a humbling experience for me,” Frantz said. “I had mentioned to them [the Steelers] when I won the award that I couldn’t believe that I could have won it because there are so many people out there in the community doing all sorts of things. I am just a normal human being, a nurse, looking to make things better for people. I am truly honored to have been chosen for it.”

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For Pittsburgh Steelers senior director of community relations Blayre Holmes Davis, honoring Frantz, who has given so much to the community, is an important thing to do. 

“We want to take the time to recognize the unsung heroes in our community and we appreciate folks like Carolina who are there to do the work and are there to receive services. We are honored to uplift her story and the work that she has done over the years and everything that is going to come along with it,” Holmes Davis said. 

Frantz is currently the BSN-AID Program Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Duquesne University where she helps support students and mentor underrepresented students in nursing. 

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Back in 2018, Frantz decided to found the Western Pennsylvania Area Chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses with an old colleague who worked at Pittsburgh Mercy. 

She signed up the chapter to become a distributor of socks from the company Bomba’s. For every pair of socks purchased, the company would also donate a pair. 

For three years, the chapter had to wait to become distributors but once Frantz was chosen, she hit the ground running helping the Pittsburgh region all while sorting and distributing socks out of her garage.

“After I received the socks, I contacted my friend at Pittsburgh Mercy who gave me a list of all of the shelters in the Pittsburgh area that needed sock donations to help move product. After contacting them, all of those boxes were offloaded quickly, and I took a day trip in my husband’s pickup truck delivering socks to different homeless shelters in the Pittsburgh region. After that, I just kept expanding donations and continued to distribute them throughout the Pittsburgh region.” 

Since 2023, Frantz has delivered over 15,000 pairs of socks to the Pittsburgh community. 

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While she continues to make impressive strides with her efforts, Frantz’s extensive work within the healthcare field has given her a deeper understanding of what her work can do for a community. 

“It is more than just delivering socks,” Frantz said. “I have gotten to see what things look like in the healthcare space. To see people come into the healthcare system with foot ulcers, or other people that are at a higher risk for injuries and wounds. Unfortunately, a lot of people who are experiencing those ailments are part of the unhoused population. People most of the time that are unhoused don’t have proper footwear and socks which place them at a higher risk to develop those wounds.”

 While she did not grow up a Beaver County resident, Frantz moved into the Pittsburgh region when she was 12 years old after immigrating from Colombia. 

After moving around Western Pennsylvania, she, her husband and three kids moved to the Beaver County area around six years ago after her husband started to work at the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Plant. 

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While being involved with the community close to home along with volunteer work, she has also started a new position in the Beaver County area. 

“Recently I made an addition to my career working for the Gateway Rehab Center, and that was purposeful to give myself more experience in the behavioral health space,” Frantz said. “I have gotten a better understanding of people who have the most needs and continue to be able to give back. I work there once a week as a nurse at the Aliquippa facility, which is another part that I am giving to the community. Hopefully, some of the sock donations from the bigger organizations will touch the Beaver County community soon.”

By being nominated, Frantz will also receive a $10,000 donation from the NFL Foundation paid directly to the non-profit of her choice, which is Pittsburgh Mercy. 

Frantz will also be recognized at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 17 game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day. 

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Though she won’t be able to be recognized in person at the game, Holmes Davis believes that her story can continue to push change in the community. 

“We are a city that helps each other to create the needs for people,” Holmes Davis said. “We are excited to be able to share her story with our fanbase and hopefully through her work, people in the community will feel inspired to do something in their community as well.”

As Frantz continues to help the community with her various endeavors, she hopes that the work that she did can show people that putting a small effort into helping a cause can go a long way. 

“It doesn’t take a lot of sacrifice to make a difference. We have been blessed with the ability to have a garage big enough and I am just one human being. If you take all the people that live in a five-mile region, you can do big things. People can make a lot of difference in the world by doing small things.”



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Santa’s reindeer cleared for Christmas flight in Pennsylvania

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Santa’s reindeer cleared for Christmas flight in Pennsylvania


Santa’s reindeer cleared for Christmas flight in Pennsylvania – CBS Pittsburgh

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State leaders cleared Santa for Christmas Day.

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