Today, SEIU Local 668, which represents 10,000 Commonwealth employees and 25,000 workers across the Commonwealth, is able to celebrate a few key victories achieved in the passage of the 2026-27 state budget:
A long overdue cost of living increase (COLA) for retired state employees and teachers who retired prior to 2001. The inclusion of this COLA in the budget bill brings much needed relief to retirees after a quarter-century of advocacy from SEIU Local 668 and our sister unions to achieve this important victory. Those retirees saw no COLA for nearly 25 years prior to this budget, which will see nearly 70,000 retirees earn an additional $50-$300 per month.
Key funding investments such as significant increases for County Assistance Offices, including funding for chip readers for EBT cards, alongside more modest increases for County Child Welfare, Aging Programs, Higher Education, Blindness and Visual Services, Mental Health Services, Military and Veterans Affairs, and Corrections.
But we would be remiss if we didn’t point out that the highlights we are celebrating should not require years of effort to achieve – they should be the basic expectation of elected officials in a functioning government. Promises made to retired public servants who devoted their careers to serving our communities should be kept by public officials. Essential services shouldn't be forced to limp along with either below-inflation-rate increases or cuts, leaving employees to live on inadequate wages and benefits. On-time budgets shouldn’t become an achievement rather than an expectation for elected officials.
And unfortunately, with serious cuts to public services on the horizon, including most notably the County Assistance Offices now requiring more Pennsylvania revenue to operate due to funding cuts in the Big Beautiful Bill, serious questions about bringing in sustainable revenue for these programs remain unanswered: legalized marijuana and skill games regulation remain in limbo while a needed raise to the minimum wage gets put off for another year.
With even more significant federal funding cuts looming in 2027, we can’t afford to put off these questions for another year, or Pennsylvania families will be the ones left searching for answers.
