The Philadelphia Inquirer recently spotlighted Ryan Boyer, the Business Manager of the Laborers’ District Council of the Metropolitan Area of Philadelphia and Vicinity and President of the Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council. The article highlight’s Boyer’s role in supporting organized labor in Philadelphia, and his growing role as a leader in the city.
From the Philadelphia Inquirer:
Boyer himself has now risen to a unique position of power, even if many in the city don’t know his name. And he’s not seeking attention. …
It’s busy being the head of a union group of 6,200 members working for four locals in Philadelphia, Norristown, and Chester. Union work is a family business for Boyer — and the foundation for a base of power that has made him a player in corporate and nonprofit circles, as well as in community issues like combating gun violence.
“Everything I’ve got is because of organized labor,” said Boyer, 50.
The building trades unions have long been a dominant force in Philadelphia politics, thanks to their heavy political spending. But aside from the laborers, the unions are overwhelmingly white and overwhelmingly suburban — according to the few public analyses of their membership — creating an uneasy dynamic in a city in which residents of color make up a majority.
That puts Boyer in a unique position of being a leader in both the Black community and the building trades.
