Saturday Stats
Posted December 01, 2023 in eNews
Numeric news from Policy Matters
This week Policy Matters took our show on the road. We headed to Youngstown’s Westside Bowl to talk worker power and the State of Working Ohio. Development Director Michelle Unangst and economist Michael Shields were joined by Dr. AJ Sumell, professor of economics at Youngstown State and lead negotiator for the faculty union in their recent contract negotiations, and Melanie Hameed, President of the North Eastern Ohio Education Association. This edition of Saturday Stats features some highlights.
33,000: Union members Melanie represents — NEOEA is the largest district in the Ohio Education Association! And when she speaks, she speaks for all of them—and they have her back. Melanie spoke about the responsibility and courage that come with her position, and about the fact that working people are strongest when we act together, as one big union, all in the same fight.
15: Number of years since the last time YSU faculty had a contract going into the new school year. AJ attributes this year’s successful negotiations to an effective strike in 2020 and the sense of urgency generated by current threats to higher education, including SB 83 (which might be losing steam…)
113,774: Number of K-12 teachers employed in Ohio last school year. Melanie talked about how to get more young people interested in the profession, and how to keep experienced teachers in the classroom where our kids need them most.
$13.15: Median wage for child care professionals in Ohio. Mike pointed to this fact as a prime example of how the labor market fails to appropriately value work — which is why we need policies to require employers to pay more, and in the case of child care centers, to make sure those employers can afford to do so.
$3.40/hr: Amount by which the typical Ohio worker represented by a union was paid more than their nonunion counterpart in 2022 according to this year’s State of Working Ohio. Economists call it the “union premium” — and the more people join unions, the bigger it gets! AJ talked about how increasing union density can reduce economic inequality, and how unions built the middle class.
76%: Amount by which worker productivity in Ohio has grown since 1979.
4%: Amount by which median work pay in Ohio has grown since 1979.
If you listen long enough to Policy Matters economist Michael Shields, he will probably hit you with this pair of numbers. It’s easy to see why: The disparity isn’t just striking, it’s infuriating. Mike talked about the policies that allow this to happen, and what working people can do — and are doing — to change it.