A new 2026 labor agreement in Scranton is putting Democratic Mayor Paige Cognetti’s record on maternity leave under fresh scrutiny as she challenges Republican incumbent Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA) in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District, one of the country’s most competitive House races.
The agreement has renewed attention on how maternity leave and other benefits have shifted under contracts negotiated during Cognetti’s tenure, particularly for newer city employees.
Before those changes, city workers were guaranteed 12 weeks of paid maternity leave. But agreements reached under Cognetti altered that policy for new hires, requiring employees hired after Jan. 1, 2021, to take unpaid leave for childbirth, while only longer-tenured workers retained access to paid leave.
Cognetti defended the latest agreement, saying, “All City of Scranton employees deserve fair pay, excellent healthcare, retirement savings, safe working conditions, and opportunity paths to make a career out of public service,” adding that the deal ensures the city can deliver “excellent daily services and immediate emergency response” without “driving up costs for our taxpayers.”
The changes were part of a broader set of contract revisions that reduced sick leave for new employees from 14 days annually to as few as eight and increased healthcare costs across multiple unions, including higher premiums, deductibles, and co-pays.
Police union agreements negotiated during her tenure similarly eliminated guaranteed paid maternity leave, instead allowing officers to take unpaid leave under federal law or use accrued sick time. The contracts also increased employee healthcare costs, raising premium contributions, deductibles, and co-pays, with one union-appointed arbitrator warning the cost shifts would leave some officers paying thousands more and calling the changes “too much, too soon.”
The renewed focus on those policies comes as Cognetti has positioned herself as a supporter of paid family leave and working parents.
At a women’s rights rally in January 2020, she pointed to Scranton’s three months of paid maternity leave as evidence the city was “leading the way in Pennsylvania,” while arguing more should be done.
Thank you @SenBobCasey for supporting me as a working mom.#returningtowork after 2 weeks is unfortunately common due to weak #maternityleave & family leave standards.
Long way to go, but every parent who makes it work at work helps pave the way for progress. https://t.co/Uoalda1mTg
— Mayor Paige Cognetti (@Scranton_Mayor) January 15, 2020
She has also spoken about the challenges of working motherhood, including during her early time as mayor when she brought her newborn daughter to work, a moment that drew local attention to the realities facing working parents. In a social media post, she wrote that “returning to work after 2 weeks is unfortunately common due to weak maternity leave and family leave standards,” adding that “every parent who makes it work helps pave the way for progress.”
The race is expected to be one of the most competitive in the country and could help determine control of the House. Cognetti, a former Obama campaign fundraiser and Treasury Department adviser, is challenging Bresnahan after serving three terms as mayor of Scranton.
She has centered her campaign on banning congressional stock trading, an issue Bresnahan also ran on in 2024, though efforts to pass such legislation have stalled in Congress. Bresnahan has emphasized ethics and labor issues in office, introducing the TRUST Act to ban stock trading and backing Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s (R-FL) push to force a vote on similar legislation.
Cognetti enters the race with a mix of strengths and headwinds. As mayor of the district’s largest city, she has unified the Democratic field and secured backing from top statewide officials. But the broader political landscape presents challenges. The district has voted for Donald Trump in each of the last three presidential elections, and the Cook Political Report currently rates the race as leaning Republican.
Bresnahan has also made gains with organized labor, winning endorsements from three local unions that previously backed Democrats, including the Pennsylvania Laborers District Council, which had supported Cognetti in her 2019 mayoral run.
Republicans are beginning to highlight the contrast as they look to defend Bresnahan’s seat in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District.
“This is just another example of pandering, out-of-touch multimillionaire Paige Cognetti preaching support for working-class families in public while sticking a knife in their backs the moment she thinks no one is watching,” said Luzerne County GOP Chair Lee Ann McDermott in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner.
Cognetti’s campaign pushed back in a statement but did not directly address the maternity leave changes at the center of the criticism.
“As Mayor, Paige has worked with each of the unions that represent city employees to ensure fair contracts that have consistently increased wages, added jobs, and set employee share of health care at sustainable levels,” a Cognetti spokesperson said.
“The choice in this election is simple: In Congress, Paige will fight for the PRO Act, expand collective bargaining rights, and work to pass federal legislation that ensures universal paid family leave,” the spokesperson said. “Congressman Bresnahan has not and will not. There is only one pro-union, pro-worker candidate in this race who fights for the people rather than their own stock portfolio, and it is Mayor Paige Cognetti.”
IN PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE RACE, DEMOCRATS TRY TO STEM TIDE OF UNION SUPPORT TO THE GOP
Fundraising between the candidates has been competitive. From October through December 2025, Bresnahan brought in $675,000 to Cognetti’s $645,000. He also began 2026 with a sizable cash advantage, reporting $1.43 million on hand compared to her $805,000.
With the district emerging as a top battleground, both parties are expected to spend heavily as the race sharpens around competing claims over working families.