Economic Populism

Floor Speech

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Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I am Val Hoyle, and I represent the central and south coasts of Oregon. I am a proud third-generation union member with a background in sales and international trade, and I came to Congress to fight for working people.

My family's path to the middle class was made possible because of the labor movement. My grandfather emigrated from Ireland and worked as a union laborer building bridges. It was hard work in unsafe conditions. Those conditions are significantly better because of the building trades unions.

My father was a firefighter and became president of his union to fight for better wages and safer working conditions. The contract that he and his team negotiated while management tried and failed to break his spirit took his members from poverty wages to a family-wage job. IAFF Local 789 is still working under that contract 40 years later.

Mr. Speaker, I grew up going to union halls and picket lines and with my father fighting to elect proworker candidates. Naturally, I became a member of UNITE HERE Local 26 as a union waitress during the AIDS crisis, where fellow union members had the dignity of healthcare and death benefits when they needed them because we belonged to a union. I am proud to say that my son is a Teamster.

I understand what is at stake for the working people of this country and my district because it is my story, too, and I came to Congress to fight for everyday people to have a fair shot, live in dignity, and make a fair wage while they work hard to provide for their families.

That is why I believe in economic populism, which is not just about talking at people. It is about listening to them and truly representing them. The fact is that workers feel left behind and that the two-party system doesn't represent them.

Republicans have tied in with billionaires and restricted the rights of workers to organize and have union representation wherever possible while they are telling them that their enemy is their neighbor.

Too many Democrats show up on a job site seemingly from a sense of noble obligation with wonky academic explanations about why everything is fine, even when everyday Americans can't make ends meet. I had an operating engineer tell me last week that he thinks that both parties are pissing on his leg and telling him that it is raining.

We have to understand that working people do not want a handout. They want a good job, a pathway to the middle class, and a comfortable retirement. Those opportunities have slipped away for too many people.

When people tell us that they are struggling to afford prescription medications, we can't turn around and tell them that they are wrong. We need to listen to them and hold Big Pharma accountable.

When people tell us that they see government as overly bureaucratic and complex, we can't dismiss that experience and say that it is all fine. We need to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly.

Of course, addressing waste, fraud, and abuse is important. We also need to make sure that our veterans, our seniors, and the most vulnerable among us receive the benefits that they have earned and not break government under the guise of efficiency.

Democrats are the party that champion and protect the things that working people rely on, like the Affordable Care Act, Social Security, stronger unions and workplace protections, the 40-hour workweek, overtime pay, public education, and strong consumer protections. However, we need more Democrats whose filter for what they do in Congress is: Will this help working people, as opposed to giving lipservice in some disconnected way?

We should all be fighting hard against corruption and for a real path to the middle class. Young people want to be able to work one job and afford to buy a home and raise a family, and that is not the reality for too many Americans.

That is what Democrats should stand for and be working for every day. Our party must embrace economic populism and fight to revive the American Dream, standing up for working people and giving them a chance to succeed.

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