Heartland Signal: GOP’s Ryan Mackenzie “says automating manufacturing jobs is ‘where you want to go’”

Republican candidate Ryan Mackenzie can't go long without promoting his anti-worker, anti -union agenda. New reporting from Heartland Signal exposes Mackenzie for saying manufacturing jobs being lost to automation is "where you want to go."

His comment came during a press conference with the Koch-backed dark money group Americans For Prosperity, where Mackenzie also "expressed opposition to a bipartisan bill to expand prevailing wage requirements in Pennsylvania."

DCCC Spokesperson Aidan Johnson:
"Ryan Mackenzie is so preoccupied with making his anti-worker corporate donors happy that he's not even pretending to supportPennsylvania's working families. He continues to show how out-of-touch he is with the needs of the Greater Lehigh Valley and their longstanding history with the labor community, and voters will reject him in November."

Heartland Signal: Pennsylvania GOP candidate says automating manufacturing jobs is 'where you want to go'
Richard Eberwein | July 25, 2024

• Following a campaign event on June 5, Pennsylvania congressional candidate and state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lehigh) said that manufacturing jobs being lost to automation is "where you want to go."

• "You go to some facilities, and they've replaced all the workers, who used to be working the line, with now automated facilities, everything's just zipping around," Mackenzie said in an audio recording provided to Heartland Signal.

• Mackenzie then argued that […] "That's kind of where you want to go."

• At the Pennsylvania Election Integrity Network event in Allentown, Mackenzie also expressed opposition to a bipartisan bill to expand prevailing wage requirements in Pennsylvania.

• The state representative has opposed other pieces of legislation aimed to financially assist the middle class, like bills to expand retirement savings account access, increase the minimum wage and ensure employment benefits to striking workers. He also cast a nay vote to allow a constitutional amendment that would enshrine the right for workers to collectively bargain into the Pennsylvania Constitution.

• Last month, Mackenzie drew criticism after reports revealed he lied about his age on a Tinder profile four years ago, which said he was 29 years old when he was actually 37.