CWA District 4 on Ohio Property Taxes and Pittsburgh’s PAPER
Communications Workers of America (CWA) District 4 Administrative Director Frank Mathews joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to caution Ohio voters about a ballot effort to eliminate property taxes, warning it could destabilize school funding and essential local services without a credible replacement plan.
Mathews also highlighted an emerging labor-backed journalism initiative in Pittsburgh—PAPER, the Pittsburgh Alliance for People-Empowered Reporting—as reporters seek to build a new community-focused news source.
- CWA District 4 warns that eliminating Ohio property taxes could remove more than $20 billion in revenue, putting schools, roads, safety services and EMS at risk.
- Shifting the burden to sales and income taxes would hit working families hardest, raising fairness concerns even among groups that typically disagree on policy.
- CWA-affiliated journalists in Pittsburgh are building a worker-centered reporting project designed to fill a local news gap.
Property taxes are rarely anyone’s favorite. But in Ohio, they remain one of the primary ways communities can afford to keep schools open, roads maintained and emergency services staffed.
That reality is why the Communications Workers of America (CWA) is urging Ohioans to look past the headline appeal of a proposed property tax repeal and ask a harder question: what replaces the revenue, and who pays the bill when it does.
On the latest segment of the America’s Work Force Union Podcast, longtime guest Frank Mathews—who represents CWA District 4, covering Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan—offered a detailed warning about a signature-gathering push that aims to place a property tax elimination measure on the Ohio ballot.
Mathews also used the interview to spotlight a separate labor story gaining national attention: Pittsburgh journalists and the NewsGuild-CWA are exploring a new, community-focused reporting initiative called PAPER.
Ohio Property Taxes: What’s at Stake
Mathews began with a point many voters can relate to: property taxes are unpopular, especially as home values rise.
CWA’s concern, Mathews explained, is not with having a conversation about tax relief. It is with the idea of scrapping the entire system without a replacement plan. Mathews said that in Ohio, assessed property values have increased over time. When valuations rise, tax bills often rise with them. That creates real pressure on retirees, working families and landowners who may be “asset rich” on paper but cash-constrained month to month.
Property taxes, he said, are among the oldest and largest sources of revenue in the state. They fund a wide range of services that residents experience daily, including:
- Public schools
- Township operations
- County services and social services
- Fire protection and EMS
- Police services
- Local infrastructure and road maintenance
Mathews stressed that many levies are approved by voters, meaning communities often choose to fund specific needs through the property tax system.
CWA District 4 Cites $20B+ Revenue Hole Without a Plan
To illustrate the scale, Mathews cited an analysis indicating that eliminating property taxes could wipe out more than $20 billion in future tax revenue.
He emphasized the danger of moving forward without a detailed replacement strategy. In practical terms, he argued, removing a revenue stream of that magnitude would force lawmakers to shift costs elsewhere.
Mathews noted that even organizations not typically aligned with labor have warned against the concept, describing it as financially destabilizing.
Sales and Income Tax Hikes Would Hit Workers
Mathews’ central fairness argument was straightforward: if property taxes disappear, the replacement is likely to come from higher sales taxes, higher income taxes or both.
He warned that significant increases in consumption and income taxes would hit working families hardest. A household earning $50,000 to $60,000 a year, he said, would feel the impact far more than higher-income residents.
That is why Mathews framed the debate as a fairness issue, not a simplistic “rich versus poor” argument. The core question is whether the tax burden shifts away from property owners, thereby increasing pressure on wages and day-to-day purchasing power.
Township Funding: Roads, Fire, EMS
One of Mathews’ most specific warnings focused on Ohio townships.
He noted that more than a third of Ohio residents live in townships or areas outside incorporated cities and villages. Unlike municipalities, townships generally cannot levy their own income or sales taxes. That makes property tax revenue a foundational funding source.
Mathews pointed to township responsibilities that do not go away if property taxes do:
- Police, fire and EMS coverage
- Maintenance of local infrastructure -- Upkeep of roughly 41,000 miles of roads statewide
In other words, the service obligations remain even if the revenue mechanism is removed.
CWA District 4 Urges Ohioans: Ask Before You Sign
Mathews said the immediate concern is the signature-gathering phase.
He described the familiar scene: petitioners outside grocery stores or gas stations presenting a clipboard with a simple pitch—eliminate property taxes.
His advice to voters was to pause and ask basic questions:
- How will schools be funded?
- How will roads be maintained?
- How will police, fire and EMS be paid for?
- What is the written replacement plan?
Mathews argued that, without clear answers, signing a petition effectively endorses a significant structural change without understanding its consequences.
Local Journalism: Pittsburgh’s PAPER Initiative
The interview then shifted to Pittsburgh, where journalists represented by the NewsGuild-CWA have been exploring new ways to sustain local news gathering.
Mathews described the effort as both practical and inspiring: workers who spent years fighting for fair treatment are now looking to build a new platform that serves working-class communities with credible reporting.
The initiative is called PAPER, short for Pittsburgh Alliance for People Empowered Reporting. Mathews said the project aims to fill a gap in local news coverage and strengthen community connections.
Mathews directed listeners to https://ourpapernow.org for more information and ways to support the effort.
CWA’s Broader Message: Public Services and Public Truth
Taken together, Mathews’ two topics—Ohio’s property tax debate and Pittsburgh’s journalism initiative—reflect a consistent labor message.
Working people need stable public services: schools that function, roads that are maintained and a reliable emergency response.
They also need reliable information sources that are accountable to communities, not shaped solely by corporate consolidation.
For CWA District 4, Mathews said the call to action is not to shut down debate. It is to insist on details, demand a plan and protect the systems that working families depend on every day.
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