President of the Ohio AFL-CIO, Tim Burga, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to talk about the annual State of Working Ohio report. Burga also talked about trends and issues in the workforce since the pandemic and the struggle to redistrict the state's voting maps.
Policy Matters Ohio released its annual State of Working Ohio 2023 report. The report found that following the pandemic, many jobs have returned, but it isn’t like it was before the pandemic. Ohio AFL-CIO is working to make up ground for the loss of workers' protections and the sacrifices made by labor during the pandemic.
Thanks to federal investment, there were 52,000 new labor jobs created in Ohio during 2022. But a major issue in Ohio remains the misclassification of workers Also, work still needs to be done to support childcare workers, as the subsidies available in Ohio are ranked last in the United States.
In 2022, there were six different votes to deny proposed redistricting maps for Ohio due to gerrymandered borders. There is likely not a better outcome in 2023 with many of the same legislators involved, Burga said. Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor is leading an effort known as Citizens Not Politicians. This effort would create an independent commission to draw the redistricting maps and keep politicians from creating their own districts.
To hear more from Tim Burga, press the play button above.