Merck Union Retirees' Club

06/08/2026

No Pennsylvanian should go hungry. If you are struggling, don't hesitate to get help. Find resources:

🥗 dhs.pa.gov/SNAP
🤝 www.pa-navigate.org
🥫 feedingpa.org
🍎 dhs.pa.gov/Ending-Hunger
🍼 pawic.com

06/08/2026

🏛️ / Albert Einstein /

“Three great forces rule the world: stupidity, fear, and greed.”

Many conflicts, injustices, and failures can be traced back to these three forces. Fear blinds people to reason, greed places self-interest above the common good, and ignorance prevents understanding. Together, they shape decisions that affect entire societies. Einstein's warning remains relevant because these forces still influence politics, economics, and human relationships. Progress requires courage, wisdom, and compassion to overcome them. Awareness is the first step toward change. A better world begins with better choices.

Which of these forces do you think causes the most damage today?

06/08/2026

🚨 WORKERS’ RIGHTS ARE NOT UP FOR DEBATE 🚨

Today, Teamsters Local 135 is at the NLRB Region 25 office as Caesars Entertainment continues its attempt to overturn the overwhelming decision made by the Dealers and Dual Rates at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

These workers spent 52 days on strike fighting for the right to have a voice on the job. They sacrificed, endured uncertainty, and stood shoulder-to-shoulder for a better future. When the election was finally held, they won in a landslide by more than 70%.

And yet, despite that decisive victory, the company still has not sat down to begin bargaining a first contract or even recognized their Union.

While labor law reform is needed, this campaign is also a powerful reminder that workers themselves hold the power. These workers didn’t wait for the federal government to act—they organized, stood together, and took matters into their own hands. Their determination and victory have inspired working people across the country who want to form their own union and fight for a voice on the job.

“Right now, we’re sitting in an NLRB hearing because Caesars refuses to accept what its own employees already decided. These workers sacrificed 52 days on strike, and 180 days ago, they won their election by more than 70%, and are still waiting for the company to do the right thing and bargain. The right to form a union is a fundamental workers’ right—not a suggestion and not something corporations get to delay through endless legal games. The workers have spoken. The outcome was decisive. It’s time for Caesars to stop wasting time and money fighting its own employees and start negotiating a fair contract,” said Dustin Roach, President of Teamsters Local 135.

Teamsters Local 135 would also like to recognize the unwavering support these workers received from Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien, General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman, and the entire International General Executive Board. Throughout this fight, they stood shoulder-to-shoulder with these workers and ensured they had the support necessary to continue their historic struggle for justice.

The workers voted.

The workers won.

Now it’s time for Caesars to respect the results and come to the bargaining table.

!

06/08/2026

Most people outside Philadelphia have never heard the name Amoroso's. But if you've ever eaten a real Philly cheesesteak, you've already tasted what they make. 🥖

The Amoroso family has been baking rolls in South Philadelphia since 1904. More than 120 years. Four generations. And through every buyout offer, every corporate consolidation wave, every moment when it would have been easy to cash out and walk away: they stayed. The rolls stayed the same. The recipe stayed the same.

What's interesting is that most cheesesteak shops in Philadelphia won't use anything else. Pat's uses them. Geno's uses them. The corner shop your uncle swears by uses them. The roll isn't a side note to the sandwich. For a lot of Philadelphians, the roll IS the sandwich. And the Amoroso family figured that out over a century ago and never let anyone take it from them.

There aren't many stories like this left in Pennsylvania. Have you ever thought about the roll before? 🤔

06/08/2026

Most Pennsylvanians have never heard the name Boyertown in connection with one of the deadliest disasters in the state's history. 🕯️

On January 13, 1908, a packed crowd of nearly 400 people gathered at the Rhoads Opera House in Boyertown, Berks County, for an amateur theatrical performance. Midway through the show, a moving picture projector caught fire. What happened next took less than ten minutes and killed 170 people, most of them neighbors, children, and families from the same small community.

What's interesting is that the Rhoads fire didn't just devastate a town: it changed the country. In the months that followed, Pennsylvania passed some of the first fire safety laws in American history, requiring fire exits, sprinkler systems, and occupancy limits in public buildings. The reforms that came out of Boyertown quietly shaped building codes that are still in use today.

Here's what people don't realize: Boyertown lost nearly 10 percent of its entire population in a single night. The grief was so deep that the town essentially went silent for a generation. There are families in Berks County today who still carry that loss in their names.

Did you know about the Rhoads Opera House fire? 🔥

06/07/2026

A new spending bill contains an historic number of attacks on the environment and endangered species. The House Appropriations Committee has passed a funding bill with massive cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency and agencies within the Department of the Interior. The legislation slashes total funding for the EPA by 20% and guts its enforcement budget by $169 million, or nearly half compared to last year’s funding levels.

“This morally bankrupt bill will only lead to dirtier air, more toxic water, and countless species shoved over the extinction cliff," said Stephanie Kurose of the Center for Biological Diversity.

The bill also includes at least 21 harmful anti-wildlife poison pill riders that would undermine the Endangered Species Act and other safeguards for the nation’s most vulnerable wildlife, including gray wolves, grizzly bears, wolverines, and freshwater mussels.

Other harmful riders include: weakening habitat protections for northern spotted owls and Canada lynx, blocking reintroduction of grizzlies in the North Cascades and Bitterroot ecosystems, and prohibiting any federal agency from banning or restricting lead in ammunition or fishing gear.

In addition to blocking revisions to harmful Endangered Species Act regulations put in place during the previous administration, this bill will codify climate denialism into law by exempting federal land management agencies from updating their plans when new information shows endangered species are being harmed or killed on public lands.

RFK Jr. probably can't wait to get in there and taste them ALL.

06/06/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1CC1k6NRq6/

06/06/2026