Pittsburg, PA
Starbucks workers at Pittsburgh's Sixth Street store vote for a union – Pittsburgh Union Progress
Shortly after 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Starbucks workers and organizers in Pittsburgh began celebrating. During a phone conversation, you could hear their excited voices in the background. Moments earlier, they’d stood in the Downtown Sixth Street Starbucks cafe while an agent from the National Labor Relations Board counted ballots that would determine whether the store’s baristas would unionize.
The finally tally proved unanimous: Nine votes in favor of joining Starbucks Workers United. It was a committed crew. One worker, a high school student, skipped classes to cast a vote.
“Everyone is so happy,” said Tori Tambellini, a Starbucks worker and union organizer. She’d stepped outside to spread the news by phone. “I think the store manager may have teared up a bit. He’s not as happy as we are.”
The Sixth Street store is the 400th in the U.S. to organize. The Starbucks United campaign began in late 2021.
The past several days have been exhilarating for Pittsburgh’s unionized baristas. Last week, the coffee company announced it would work with the union toward reaching a contract for its organized employees — a sharp reversal in what had been a hardline company stance against the union. And on Monday, a crowd of United Steelworkers from around the U.S. and Canada, in town for a convention, filled the sidewalks on Sixth Street to rally and offer support ahead of the vote.
“We’re really stoked,” said Eric Shorthouse, 28, a worker at the Sixth Street store. “This is huge. It’s not something I really ever thought would happen.”
Both Shorthouse and fellow employee Harper Blackstock, 22, said they felt as though they were “standing on the shoulders of giants,” meaning organizers and workers who paved the way for the Sixth Street effort. That includes workers who initiated the national Starbucks organizing effort in Buffalo, as well as those at the cafe in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood, which became the first to organize in Pennsylvania.
One issue for workers at the Sixth Street store is that managers have been cutting baristas’ hours. This results in smaller paychecks and too few workers performing too much work.
”A lot of times it feels like our position there is not taken seriously as a job and a livelihood,” Blackstock said, “and that goes for scheduling, for pay, and for the amount of work that any individual person is made to do.”
Another issue is safety. Baristas at the store sometimes must deal with unruly customers – there have been occasions in which customers have thrown items at workers, Blackstock said. Workers want the company to take those incidents more seriously.
“There have been times in the past when safety measures were subpar at best,” Blackstone said. “And that’s disheartening.”
Steve is a photojournalist and writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he is currently on strike and working as a Union Progress co-editor. Reach him at smellon@unionprogress.com.
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It’s only fitting that one of the most eventful offseasons in Pittsburgh Steelers history will be capped by an equally unpredictable NFL draft. Owning 12 picks, including five in the top 100 for the first time since 1999, GM Omar Khan has a chance to radically change the franchise’s trajectory in front of a home crowd in Pittsburgh.
Last time they held five picks in the top 100, the Steelers found a couple very good long-term starters like OLB Joey Porter Sr. and DE Aaron Smith. But they also struck out on WR Troy Edwards, DB Scott Shields, and OT Kris Farris.
At a pivotal, transitional phase in franchise history, the Steelers can’t afford to find just two good starters. That may be a challenge in a draft lacking top-end talent that falls off a cliff in the later rounds. If they are out of range of coveted players, they can’t be timid in the trade market.
I posed the question on this week’s episode of The Depot Dive: Over or under 2.5 trades for the Steelers? I wanted to take the over, but it’s hard to make that work without a trade down. I settled on two.
All that said, here’s my best attempt at predicting what the Steelers will do in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Round One (12th Overall) – Spencer Fano/OL/Utah – 6054, 311 pounds
Trade: Steelers send Patrick Queen + Pick No. 21 + Pick No. 121 + Pick No. 224. Cowboys send Pick No. 12 + 2027 sixth-round pick.
If they want Vega Ioane or Fano, I think it will require a move up. But I don’t think the Steelers will want to sacrifice a lot of picks to accomplish that. Queen is an easy target with the Cowboys having reported interest in trading for him during free agency.
Using our Dave Bryan’s trade idea as a loose template, I like the Steelers to jump up in the first round to solidify the trenches once again. This is the best move for the current—which we know the Steelers place a heavy emphasis on—and the future as they lock in a potentially elite offensive line for the next decade.
It’s a bonus that Fano can play guard now — and potentially tackle later if Broderick Jones or Dylan Cook don’t work out. Fano is Dane Brugler’s top OL in the class. If he makes it to 12, I like the value a lot.
Others Considered: OG Vega Ioane, WR Makai Lemon, TE Kenyon Sadiq
Spencer Fano Scouting Report
Round Two (53rd Overall) – Jacob Rodriguez/ILB/Texas Tech – 6013, 231 pounds
Trading Queen creates a need that outweighs others (like wide receiver). Maybe Rodriguez doesn’t fall this far, but he should be the Steelers’ top target if he does.
As a former quarterback, Rodriguez has a unique football IQ that could be a force multiplier for the entire Steelers defense–something Patrick Queen never really turned into. I witnessed it firsthand at the Senior Bowl. He got everybody aligned correctly pre-snap in an environment where all had to learn a new defense in just a few days.
He’s also the most decorated defensive playmaker coming out of college in decades, even more than Payton Wilson’s impressive list of accolades from a couple years ago. This would be a home-run pick.
Others Considered: WR Denzel Boston, ILB CJ Allen, S Treydan Stukes
Jacob Rodriguez Scouting Report
Round Two (59th Overall) – Germie Bernard/WR/Alabama – 6012, 206 pounds
Trade: Steelers send No. 76 + No. 99. Texans send No. 59.
Another move up to make sure the Steelers get a receiver they like at the end of the second round. Bernard was a pre-draft visitor and has the size and athletic profile that Mike McCarthy likes at the position. He does everything well, and played a healthy mix of slot and outside receiver to fit in the rotation with DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr.
Others Considered: WR Zachariah Branch, WR Chris Bell, ILB Jake Golday
Germie Bernard Scouting Report
Round Three (85th Overall) – Kamari Ramsey/S/USC – 6002, 202 pounds
Not every selection will be a pre-draft visitor, and Ramsey fits the description of the type of defensive back the Steelers have looked at. He has played a strong mix of safety and nickel and is capable of being a chess piece in Patrick Graham’s defense. Given the Steelers’ crowded secondary, he could focus on backing up Jalen Ramsey at free safety in the beginning.
Others Considered: S Jalen Kilgore, OG Keylan Rutledge, QB Drew Allar
Kamari Ramsey Scouting Report
Round Four (135th Overall) – Carson Beck/QB/Miami (FL) – 6046, 233 pounds
The Steelers have spent too much time scouting quarterbacks not to take one. And Beck has several traits they are looking for, including his track record as a winner and his size at nearly 6-5. Their view of Mike McCarthy as a QB whisperer suggests they will give him as many projects as possible until one sticks.
Others Considered: CB Tacario Davis, QB Garrett Nussmeier, WR Ja’Kobi Lane
Carson Beck Scouting Report
Round Five (161st Overall) – Ephesians Prysock/CB/Washington – 6033, 196 pounds
Prysock has all the traits to turn into an impact starter, and the Steelers have gravitated toward th long, rangy athletes at cornerback. He wouldn’t need to see the field right away with a crowded stable of defensive backs, but he has plenty of long-term upside.
Others Considered: WR/KR Kendrick Law, WR Josh Cameron, S Michael Taaffe
Ephesians Prysock Scouting Report
Round Six (216th Overall) – Kaden Wetjen/WR-KR/Iowa – 5090, 193 pounds
Calvin Austin III and Kenneth Gainwell both departed in the offseason, which means the Steelers need a kick and punt returner. Wetjen is the top return specialist in the draft with six total return touchdowns in college.
Others Considered: OT Aamil Wagner, CB Thaddeus Dixon, WR Caleb Douglas
Kaden Wetjen Scouting Report
Round Seven (230th Overall) – Josh Cuevas/TE/Alabama – 6033, 245 pounds
Cuevas is versatile enough to be a rotational backup tight end, and to play H-back or fullback in certain personnel packages. He’s a committed and aggressive blocker and has enough receiving skills to be a dependable option on passing downs, either running routes or blocking.
Others Considered: DL David Gusta, RB Jaydn Ott, TE Matthew Hibner
Josh Cuevas Scouting Report
Round Seven (237th Overall) – Brett Thorson/P/Georgia – 6012, 237 pounds
The Steelers brought back Cameron Johnston, but they didn’t even keep him over Corliss Waitman after last year’s training camp competition. Johnston is 34 years old and has dealt with injuries in each of the last two seasons. Thorson has a relationship with Johnston as a fellow Aussie, so it could be a decent pairing for another training camp competition this year.
Others Considered: WR CJ Daniels, QB Sawyer Robertson, TE John Michael Gyllenborg
Brett Thorson Scouting Report
A United flight traveling from Chicago to New York City diverted to Pittsburgh International Airport on Saturday afternoon for what was described as a “reported threat.”
According to information provided by the Allegheny County Airport Authority and FBI Pittsburgh, United Flight 2092 diverted to Pittsburgh and landed safely.
The passengers have deplaned safely, and no injuries have been reported.
“The plane was diverted and landed at Pittsburgh International Airport,” FBI Pittsburgh said in a statement provided to KDKA-TV. “All passengers and crew safely evacuated the aircraft. FBI Special Agent Bomb Techs and Special Agents are on the ground coordinating with local authorities.”
The airport authority has said that law enforcement is on the scene and investigating.
This is a developing story, and will be updated.
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