May Day report examines recent labor organizing data While union membership nationally ticked up in 2025, Ohio moved in the opposite direction. A new analysis from Policy Matters Ohio shows that union representation in Ohio fell by half a percentage point from 2024 to 2025 — a decline that was
Public sector gains aren’t enough to make up for decreasing union density American workers won the right to form a union through the National Labor Relations Act in 1935.[1] Within two years, a quarter of working people in the country were union members. By 1945, it was more than 1
Policy Matters Ohio’s comment to the Dept. of Labor Daniel Navarrete, DirectorDivision of Regulations, Legislation, and InterpretationWage and Hour DivisionU.S. Department of Labor, Room S-3502200 Constitution Avenue NWWashington, D.C. 20210 Comments on RIN 1235-AA46: Employee or Independent Contractor Status under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act,
As comparable states pull ahead, Ohioans can’t afford to wait for a $15 minimum wage Ohio’s minimum wage of $11 an hour is not enough for a single worker to afford basic living expenses in any of Ohio’s 88 counties. At just $22,880 annually (for full-time, year-round work), it comes
Correction (May 4, 2026): Due to a calculation error in our source data, the increase in Ohio worker productivity between 1979 and 2024 was understated in the original version of this report. It has been corrected in the text where indicated. The data point has also been corrected in Figure
Testimony to the House Children and Human Services Committee on House Bill 649 Good morning Chair White, Vice Chair Salvo, Ranking Member Lett, and members of the committee. My name is Heather Smith, and I am a researcher with Policy Matters Ohio, a non-partisan, nonprofit think tank. Thank you for
Testimony to the House Children and Human Services Committee on H.B. 647 Good morning Chair White, Vice Chair Salvo, Ranking Member Lett, and members of the committee. My name is Heather Smith, and I am a researcher with Policy Matters Ohio, a non-partisan, nonprofit think tank. Thank you for the
Good morning Chair Johnson, Vice Chair Lear, Ranking Member McNally, and members of the committee. My name is Heather Smith, and I am a researcher with Policy Matters Ohio, a non-partisan, nonprofit think tank. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I am writing today in support of increased enforcement
Restoring Flexibility in the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)A Proposed Rule by the Health and Human Services Department on 01/05/2026RE: Docket number ACF–2025-24272 / RIN number 0970-AD20 Secretary Kennedy, Thank you for accepting public comment on the proposed rules. In Ohio, a majority of working families cannot afford high-quality
Approximately 103,800 Ohioans to see direct wage increase On January 1, 2026, Ohio’s minimum wage will increase by 30-cents to $11.00 per hour. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that approximately 103,800 Ohioans paid less than $11.00 will experience a direct wage increase, and 169,300 more Ohioans will likely see an
Inflation-adjusted state funding is less than in the previous budget Despite Ohio’s ongoing child care crisis and policy options that could address its root causes, the state legislature cut inflation-adjusted state funding for child care by $5.6 million over the biennium. That is among the findings of a new analysis
Legislature again fails to address root causes of the state’s worsening child care crisis UPDATE (Jan. 5, 2026): Ohio legislators made some of the positive changes described below because they were required by the federal government, which provides most of the funding for child care in Ohio. But now, federal
