In one of its final moves of 2022, Congress approved a $25 million funding increase for the National Labor Relations Board, an agency which has been chronically short-staffed and underfunded.

The board has been struggling to keep up with a demand in the number of workers who want to unionize. This year, it saw a 53% increase in petitions to unionize, and said the agency will need much more funding to keep up.

Charlie Wishman, president of the Iowa AFL-CIO, said the higher caseload is far outpacing the available staff, which has a direct impact on Iowa's 1,400 unionized workers.

"We don't have enough cops on the beat to make sure that we're enforcing labor laws, so it is incredibly important," Wishman asserted. "They feel like they've been called 'essential' for years now, but they are feeling like they're being treated like expendable, instead of actually essential like they are."

The number of unionized workers in Iowa has dropped from 20% since 1990. The state is known as one of the least union-friendly in the country, although petitions to unionize are on the rise, following the national trend.

Jesse Mason, a former Verizon store employee in Seattle, gained national prominence when he was fired after trying to unionize his store. He said a grievance process which should have put him back to work almost immediately has dragged on for 10 months, and believes companies who thwart the union movement are breaking labor law.

"Honestly, if I was an 'evil union buster,' I would break the law, too, because there's basically no consequences," Mason contended. "Even if they're found conclusively by a court of law to have done something wrong, the most that happens is a year later, maybe two years later, that person gets put back to work with some back pay."

The board has received the same $274 million budget since 2014, which is $112 million short of the agency's request. It is calling on the new Congress for additional funding just to keep up with demand as union efforts grow across the country.

Support for programs providing direct cash would benefit families in need in Washington state, a new report showed.

About one in four Washingtonians struggle to meet their basic needs because of low income. The Washington State Budget and Policy Center analyzed two programs currently implemented in the state: the Working Families Tax Credit and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and guaranteed basic income, which is being piloted in some parts of the state.

Leila Reynolds, campaign communications manager for the Washington State Budget and Policy Center and the report's co-author, laid out principles to ensure the programs benefit the most people possible.

"Those principles include making sure that cash programs are targeted to people who most need it; that cash is recurring so that people can depend on it," Reynolds outlined. "Usually monthly; that it's unrestricted so that families can use it in whatever way they need."

The Working Families Tax Credit provides rebates up to $1,255 to low and middle income families. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program is a federal benefit administered by the state. The Growing Resilience in Tacoma program is one example of a guaranteed basic income program in the state. It received nearly $2 million from the state legislature in 2023.

Reynolds argued restrictions are holding the programs back, such as the 60 month limit for TANF and age restrictions on the Working Families Tax Credit, which keep young adults without children from benefiting. She noted the public benefits system addresses secondary needs like housing and food assistance but doesn't target the core issue of poverty, which is a lack of cash recipients could be used as needed.

"Research has shown that overwhelmingly recipients of cash transfer programs use that money for essential needs, like food, financial emergencies," Reynolds stressed. "We know that these programs work and we just want to make sure that they're expanded."

Reynolds also notes direct cash programs have ripple effects benefiting society.

"You see health impacts," Reynolds observed. "There's been research that's shown increase in brain activity in babies, improved maternal health outcomes, improved educational outcomes, reducing recidivism, improving employment outcomes."


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State officials in Maine said they are working to expand the number of registered apprenticeship programs to help counter a persistent worker shortage.

The state hopes to add 75,000 workers to the economy over the next five years by growing career pathways in clean energy, health care, and construction.

Joan Dolan, director of apprenticeship and strategic partnerships for the Maine Department of Labor, said the number of available programs has doubled over the past few years and all are currently full.

"There is huge interest and huge need," Dolan observed. "We've been working hard for years to expand our programming and it's really started to take hold and take off."

Dolan said 90% of apprentices who complete their programs are still working for their employer a year after graduation. Studies show they'll earn at least $300,000 more over their lifetimes compared to their peers.

The majority of apprentices in Maine are in the construction industry as federal dollars continue to boost the clean energy sector. The state has worked to recruit more women into the trade along with a growing number of new Mainers. Dolan pointed out even high schoolers are taking advantage, including in the town of Skowhegan, where a group of students is earning income and skills through electrical apprenticeships after class.

"We also have developed bank teller apprenticeship programs," Dolan explained. "There's banks right in the school, so the kids are getting high school graduation credit as well as earning a paycheck and learning a job skill."

Dolan stressed apprenticeships offer lucrative career pathways for students not interested in attending college or for the many rural students who simply cannot afford it. She added anyone can become an apprentice as long as they're at least 16 years old and are committed to furthering their education both in the classroom and on the job.


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Ohio is among the many states where a majority of workers lack access to paid family leave. A new report by Groundwork Ohio finds three in four Ohioans are employed in jobs without the possibility of paid family leave. This means many parents of young children face difficult choices between work and family. Even other conservative states, like Florida and Texas, have developed voluntary systems allowing private market benefits.

Lynanne Gutierrez, president and CEO of Groundwork Ohio, said the need for policies that support families and their workforce participation has never been clearer.

"There is currently a mismatch in policy, and the desires of both policymakers and the people of Ohio, when it comes to both the needs of their young children and families and the workforce," she explained.

The report was supported by grant funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. While some people may take advantage of accrued vacation or short-term disability benefits, access to these options remains uneven. Nationwide, only about half of full-time employees have short-term disability benefits, and only one in five part-time employees.

The report also highlights the economic and developmental stakes for young children in families without paid leave. Research shows that nearly 23% of new mothers in the U.S. return to work within 10 days of giving birth, driven by financial need and limited options that support newborn care. Gutierrez stresses the impact on childhood development when families lack adequate support.

"We know that one in four children under the age of five across the state of Ohio live in poverty; they're among our most vulnerable. And so, the more support we can get to children and families in that unique period of time really sets a foundation for their lifelong success," she continued.

Ohio is one of 29 states without a state-administered paid family leave law, but public support for a national policy is high. The report says 94% of Democrats, 83% of Independents, and 74% of Republicans favor a federal paid family leave policy.


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