Once again, our US Representative Lloyd Smucker is showing us who he is and who he works for. True to form, it is not working people. Rep. Smucker consistently supports anti-labor policies while enriching his donors by voting for huge tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy. While Republicans complain that increasing wages drastically increases our deficit, the truth is that Trump’s tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations in 2017 are the largest contributor to our deficit. Despite being warned by the Congressional Budget Office that the Trump tax cuts would severely increase our deficit, Rep. Smucker and his colleagues fully supported and celebrated its passing. 

Now that President Biden’s administration wants to raise wages for construction workers employed on federal projects, Rep. Smucker is suddenly extremely concerned about the growing deficit. Rather than celebrating the fact that this regulation reduces the number of low-wage workers across the country, he instead introduced a bill to ban it. He wants to revert back to a 40-year-old wage formula to ensure that many construction workers remain low-wage earners. Clearly, when it comes to supporting working people, once again, we cannot find Lloyd anywhere. 

So far, only Republicans in the House are behind his bill, that is now in the Education and Workforce Committee. Thankfully, Rep. Smucker’s ban on raising wages faces an uphill battle in the Democratic-controlled Senate. This is hopeful but not a given. As labor continues to make gains across the country, we must also face the reality of the power of our opposition. Rep. Smucker maintains much support in Lancaster County, but has proven that when working people need him, he will actively stand against them. It is our own uphill battle to hold Lloyd Smucker accountable. As difficult as it is, we must continue to fight for working people like us. 

To do this, please consider:

• Writing letters to the editor of LNP and/or smaller community newspapers like the Ephrata Review or Lititz Record
  • Check out our narrative one-pager here.
• Contacting Rep. Smucker’s office
  • Lancaster: (717) 393-0667
  • Washington, DC: (202) 225-2411
• Talking with your friends and neighbors about the importance of electing leaders who truly represent working people
• Joining Lancaster Stands Up to work together to create the change we want in our communities
• Make sure you are registered to vote and vote for leaders who represent your values

In Solidarity,

Cathy Walker