Tim Hartman, Storyteller, Pennsylvania

Tim Hartman has never known what it’s like to work for someone else.

“My dad always worked for himself, so I never had a picture of anything but self-employment. When I started to try to build a career as an actor, a storyteller, a cartoonist – I couldn’t imagine anything but being a self-employed worker,” Tim says. “I didn’t want to work for a company. I wanted to have my own voice, and I didn’t want to be controlled.”

That mindset has carried Tim throughout his ever-evolving, successful career as a storyteller.

The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native started his career as a cartoonist and illustrator, quickly realizing that if he drew it, newspapers would pay for it. “I draw what I want, I distribute the cartoons and say, ‘If you like them, pay me for them and then run them.’ I haven’t had to be controlled by anyone else’s preconceived ideas. I’m able to say, ‘This is the product I’m creating – take it or leave it,’” he says.

His flexibility as a cartoonist allowed him to simultaneously grow his acting career, appearing in nearly 300 plays and musicals, including stints on Broadway and roles in films such as “Silence of the Lambs” and “The Fault in Our Stars.”

Ask Tim what his favorite role is, however, and he’s quick to share: School assembly stand-up comedian.

“It’s just me – one large man – standing in front of kids with a stool,” he explains. “People say, ‘How do you get the kids to listen?’ But I’ve never had a bad audience. They always laugh. And I’m proud of that. If I could give up everything else in my life, and just do the storytelling – just the shows for the kids – I would.”

The passion and emotion in Tim’s voice make it clear that he means it. Unfortunately, the work he does to bring joy to the lives of children would be the first job to go if a new Department of Labor rule discourages schools from contracting with independent entertainers like Tim.

Tim puts on more than 200 assembly shows each year. He estimates that he’s performed for more than 2 million children over a 30-year period. If he were forced to give that up, he’d be heartbroken – but he knows his other creative avenues offer him financial security that many don’t have.

“With the rule, I’m horrified for the people who only have one thing. For me, it’s a dance of finding new work and finding new avenues for what I do, but for those who just do one thing, and suddenly they’re told they can’t do the thing they love anymore, I can’t imagine that.”

And like others whose livelihoods will be impacted by the DOL rule, Tim struggles to see the point.

“This would hurt lots of people who are creating things. These people – they’re self-motivated, they’re happy to pay their taxes, and in fact, they’re willing to take a hit because they want the freedom that comes with contracting. So many great things happen in this country – are built – because of the people who want and love that freedom. This rule is the turning of screws of people who have the imagination to create, to make … regulations never create.”