WESA · Chris Potter · September 7, 2026
Union members marched beneath a cloudless sky Monday for Pittsburgh’s Labor Day parade, and the outlook seemed just as sunny for many of the Democratic political leaders who joined marchers on the streets Downtown.
Because the event traditionally marks the end of summer and the beginning of the general election season, it often carries political overtones. Gov. Josh Shapiro, who polls suggest is well positioned in his bid for re-election this fall, met parade participants at the finish line in front of the United Steelworkers headquarters.
And marching near the front rank in the parade itself was Pete Buttigieg, a former U.S. Secretary of Transportation and presidential hopeful who, like Shapiro, is considered a potential contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.
“I wanted to see the famous Labor Day parade myself,” said Buttigieg at the end of the parade. He did not address speculation that he’d be back in the area when Democrats choose their 2028 nominee, saying instead, “I’m totally focused on 2026 right now. I see ways to make myself useful to people who are actually on the ballot right now … and the energy I’m seeing is incredible.”
Buttigieg noted that state-level races are important as well, including the races for control of Pennsylvania’s legislature and the governor’s office.
“I think it’s a really strong message in a pretty purple state to have a big result for a Democratic leader who is getting things done,” he said.
Buttigieg and Shapiro spoke amiably with each other at the end of the parade, where their presence caused bottlenecks: Union members, parade watchers, and elected officials clustered about them for handshaking and photos, while other local leaders urged attendees to clear a path for marchers.
“Summer Lee says you have to move to the right,” emcee Sylvia Wilson charged the crowd, in what may be the first time such a sentiment has ever been ascribed to the staunchly progressive Congresswoman.
Shapiro himself briefly spoke with reporters about a handful of issues that have surfaced in recent days. Asked about a war of words he’s been having with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services , about an outbreak of measles, Shapiro did not back down.
In Pennsylvania, Shapiro said, “We have over 600 cases of measles right now … all preventable.” He blamed Kennedy, who has long questioned the safety of vaccines and who has fought with Shapiro’s administration about whether two deaths in Lancaster County can be ascribed to measles.
Kennedy, Shapiro said, has “spewed a whole bunch of lies about vaccines, which has created more problems across this country.” As a result, he said, “We now are seeing really the largest number of cases of measles in over 30 years.”
Shapiro also batted aside arguments that his recent efforts to rein in the profusion of data center projects hampered efforts to create jobs — including those that would benefit union members.
Development of the centers and the artificial intelligence technologies they represent have become intensely controversial, with polling showing that voters have deep misgivings about them.
Shapiro, who has spoken warmly of the industry in the past, last month signed an executive order sharply limiting their expansion without local support. His Republican rival this fall, Stacy Garrity, has said the order was an effort to mask his previous support of the industry — though she, too, once spoke more warmly of them than she does now. Trump, meanwhile, maintains that opposing data center construction puts jobs at risk .
Shapiro responded to such concerns by noting that the North America’s Building Trades Unions, a consortium of more than a dozen building-trades labor groups that has embraced data centers , hailed his order as a “reasonable, measured approach to responsible data center development.”
The order, Shapiro says, ensures that developers “hire local labor, and they work in the interests of the local community. That’s a big part of what my executive order does, and these women and men of labor support it.”
Measured in terms of the visibility of political signage and other messaging, the march seemed less politically charged than in earlier years — a sign that even as midterm elections loom, there are fewer battleground races in Western Pennsylvania than in other parts of the country.
But elected officials did join with members of SEIU, a powerhouse union in local politics, in support of a proposed paid parental leave bill currently before Allegheny County health officials.
“When we’re out here today, we’re marching for workers,” said Allegheny County Council member Alex Rose at a rally before the parade began. “But we’re also marching for our families as well.”
As originally drafted, the measure would offer up to 18 weeks of paid parental leave to employees who work within the county, though officials say the measure is likely to be amended. The legislation will likely be discussed Sept. 16 at a meeting of the county’s Board of Health; it would ultimately need the approval of elected officials as well.
County Executive Sara Innamorato, who backs the proposal, said that working people had built the country, and that giving them time to bond with newborn children was “the least we can do.”
“We’re standing shoulder to shoulder with organized labor to say that this is something workers support across Allegheny County.”