Meet Tim Ryan, a CWA Champion in Congress
What do you think is the most important issue for working families facing the 112th Congress?
This Congress must continue on the path to job growth and wealth creation for America’s working families. Last year, the Democratic Congress worked hard to pass landmark legislation that has stabilized our economy and supported American small businesses. Still, far too many of our citizens remain unable to find work, and we must continue to focus all of our efforts on creating jobs and strengthening the middle class.
Why are you such an advocate for collective bargaining rights? What role do you think union members can play in society today, politically or otherwise?
In my district, we have a great example of how unions can work together with management to move a product – and a brand – into the 21st century. Thirty years ago, the General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio was notorious for its adversarial management-labor relationship. But today, GM Lordstown serves as an industry model of flexibility and cooperation – which led GM North America President Mark Reuss to tout Lordstown as “Ground Zero” for GM’s renewal after the economic collapse.
As one of the youngest Members, do you think unions are as relevant for the younger generation as for our parents’ generation?
I think that unions are more relevant today than they have been since the mid-twentieth century. Over the past 30 years, we have witnessed an unconscionable rise in income inequality in the United States – today, the top one percent of earners control 24 percent of national income. Wall Street bankers and CEOs receive multi-million dollar bonuses, but middle-class wages have stagnated, benefits have declined, and job security has all-but disappeared. All the while, health care costs, energy costs, and tuition costs have risen exponentially. Trickle-down economics has nearly squeezed working families out of the American dream altogether.