A new report on working in Ohio offers a mixed picture of labor in the state.

The annual State of Working Ohio report is out for 2022 and while researchers are highlighting the strong post-pandemic job recovery, workers still face challenges.

The report shows the state has recovered 85% of the jobs lost to COVID-19, which is three times faster than the recovery from the great recession 14 years ago. While this is good news, Michael Shields - a researcher with Policy Matters Ohio and the lead author of the report - offered a word of caution.

"There is a note of caution, that depending on how aggressively they push to reduce inflation, the Federal Reserve really could reverse this job growth," said Shields. "We could even see a recession, but generally we're seeing really good recovery."

Shields said the inflation over the last two years was kicked off by the pandemic, but corporate profits now make up over 50% of cost increases.

Over the last few decades many workers in Ohio have been forced to transition out of jobs in manufacturing and into lower wage sectors. The report indicates the state has lost over 700,000 manufacturing jobs since the 1970s.

Shields pointed to a decline in union representation as a major factor keeping wages flat since the '70s. He said that while there have been productivity gains in the workplace over those same decades, corporations and the wealthy have captured nearly all of the profits from those gains.

The report shows only 13% of Ohioans belong to a union and Shields said productivity gains are not enough.

"Productivity is not enough to ensure that everyone in Ohio is able to prosper," said Shields. "Broadly shared prosperity depends on more than productivity, it also depends on bargaining power. We have to make sure that working people have a voice at the table and are able to bargain for their share of the wealth that they're creating."

The report shows the median union wage is close to $5 per hour more than non-union workers.

Another challenge Ohio workers often face is wage theft, where employers don't pay for all hours worked. The report states that misclassification of workers as contractors is one form of wage theft, but Shields said it goes further.

"Employers steal from some 213,000 Ohioans through minimum wage non-payment alone," said Shields. "Now, minimum wage non-payment is not the only form of wage theft. There are other things like not paying time and a half for overtime. Things like not paying for all hours worked. Sometimes folks will work a short-term job and just never get their last paycheck."

Shields said Ohio does not have the investigative resources to address the scale of the wage theft problem in the state.

This story was produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are aiming to appeal to labor groups on the campaign trail, especially in battleground states like Nevada.

Christofer Kimes, organizer for the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, lives just outside of Reno. He calls northern Nevada the "new Silicon Valley" and supports heavier union presence in the region to foster better wages, worker protections and benefits.

Kimes commended the Biden-Harris administration for being pro-union and pointed to policies such as the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act as proof.

He emphasized the conservative Project 2025's "anti-labor agenda" threatens the progress unions have made.

"They're sold an idea that if you make this guy that writes your paycheck, you make him richer and the company gets bigger, you're going to have all of this stuff that you have already, you have worker's rights," Kimes outlined. "They don't understand that Project 2025 is a direct repeal of a lot of that."

Project 2025 lays out a number of labor-related reforms, like outlawing public sector unions as well as investigating labor leaders. Kimes argued another four years of Trump would "decimate" unions.

In 2018, Trump signed executive orders weakening the ability of unions to negotiate contracts and cut the hours union representatives were able to tend to member complaints. Trump has tried to distance himself from Project 2025. Conservatives argue the plan is about government accountability.

Kimes is an independent, but added when people in his mostly conservative northern Nevada community find out he is a union organizer, they are skeptical. He acknowledged they have preconceived notions about what being pro-union means. Instead of approaching the conversations in a political tone, he uses a historical one.

"The moment you begin to have the political argument on the level that I'm at, people shut down and they don't want to hear it," Kimes noted. "People gave their lives so that you have Saturday and Sunday with your kids, you get a weekend, you don't have to work 80, 90 hours a week, that all comes from unions."

Kimes recognized there has been a significant decline in the number of workers represented by unions over the past several decades. The share of U.S. workers who belong to a union has fallen since 1983. In 2023, only 10% of workers were in a union, according to the Pew Research Center.


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A dozen Eastern Kentucky counties will receive a total of around $40 million in federal funding to connect working-age residents to resources and training for jobs in a region heavily impacted by the decline of coal mining.

State data show last year, Eastern Kentucky's unemployment rate was more than 7%, far higher that the Commonwealth's overall rate of around 4%.

Brandon McBride, executive director of the Appalachian Regional Commission, said federal investment is critical for boosting local workforce capacity.

"We want to make sure that Appalachians have the skills and workforce training that they need to take advantage of new opportunities that might be coming into the region," he explained.

The nonprofit Shaping Our Appalachian Region or SOAR is spearheading the project, in collaboration with major local employers Pikeville Medical Center and Appalachian Regional Healthcare, to build new training facilities. The funds will also be used to support businesses and nonprofits that focus on regional childcare, transportation and housing challenges - longstanding barriers to employment for rural and low-income communities.

Research shows job skills training can in some cases increase earnings by nearly 70%. McBride predicted future growth is expected in several industries.

"Right now we're seeing growth in tourism, IT and cyber security. We've also seen some growth in manufacturing, especially in the automotive space, and then we're also seeing growth in the healthcare industry," McBride continued.

According to SOAR, healthcare has been among the fastest-growing local sector. Over the past three decades, the number of private sector healthcare employers in Eastern Kentucky increased by more than 200%.

U.S. postal workers will rally across the country on Tuesday to bring attention to their working conditions. An Idaho postal worker helped start the event.

Sheri Butler with the United States Postal Service is a member of her local postal workers union based in Spokane. She lives and works in Coeur d'Alene.

She spoke out about understaffing at a USPS Board of Governors meeting last year. Then, the board limited public comments at its hearings to once a year.

So she started a letter-writing campaign, which has since turned into two rallies.

"It just kind of grew as more people became interested," said Butler. "The small idea of a letter-writing campaign turned into a larger movement called 'We Won't Be Silenced.' With this movement we are ending the silence and sharing why our stories need to be told."

Members at the American Postal Workers Union national convention in July then passed her resolution for a rally. Rallies are scheduled across Idaho - including in Boise, Caldwell, and Idaho Falls.

Workers will call for more public comment opportunities at Board of Governors meetings, better staffing and services, and more cooperation from management at the bargaining table.

Workers are also frustrated with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's consolidation and reform plan for the post office - called Delivering for America - which is likely to slow mail delivery in many rural parts of the country.

DeJoy argues the changes are needed to improve the postal service's financial situation. But Butler noted that DeJoy has delayed the implementation of parts of his ten-year plan.

"He began to change his course once people started speaking up," said Butler. "Constituents are reaching out to their senators, and the senators are responding. We need the public to keep voicing their concerns loudly and pressuring USPS management to act in the best interest of the people."

Organizers have planned more than 120 rallies nationwide for Tuesday.