Briefing Highlights Importance of Manufacturing and Wage Growth

The Northeast-Midwest Institute co-hosted a Capitol Hill briefing entitled “Fighting for a High Wage America: Reinvesting in Innovation and the Industrial Heartland” on June 13. The briefing touched on repositioning America as a global leader in technological innovation as well as strategies to connect dislocated workers to high-wage jobs. The briefing was also co-hosted with The Century Foundation, the Steel Valley Authority, and the National Call to Action.

The event featured opening remarks from Senator Bob Casey (PA) and Representative Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), both of whom emphasized the importance of manufacturing to Midwest communities.

Other speakers included:

  • Fred Block, Professor of Sociology, University of California Davis
  • Tom Croft, Executive Director of the Steel Valley Authority, Managing Director, Heartland Capital Strategies (HCS)
  • Amy Goldstein, award-winning journalist, the Washington Post, and author of “Janesville: An American Story”
  • Jeff Madrick, acclaimed author and economist, Director of TCF’s Bernard L. Schwartz Rediscovering Government Initiative
  • Andrew Stettner, Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation

The briefing launched the “High Wage America Project,” a research and policy program led by The Century Foundation’s Bernard L. Schwartz Rediscovering Government Initiative.

For more information, please contact Matthew McKenna, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.