COLUMBUS, Ohio - It feels like déjà vu - human service providers in Ohio who bore the brunt of nearly $3 billion in state budget cuts could again lose funding at a time of increased need. State lawmakers are considering options as they debate a bill to fill an $815 million deficit.

The executive director of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks, Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, says that in this worst economy of our lifetimes, it's essential the state maintain and protect safety net programs from additional cuts.

"Enough is enough. The cuts have been disproportionately placed on the backs of a growing number of Ohioans who find themselves unemployed for the first time. They've seen a reduction in the number of working hours and they are struggling to meet their families' basic need for food."

Hamler-Fugitt says that, to make matters worse, a study from The Chronicle of Philanthropy found that the largest charitable organizations in the nation are expecting their greatest drop in donations in the 17 years the journal has been collecting data.

"It is literally the perfect storm: as the demand climbs, donations are declining. It's not good news for organizations that are already really pressed to continue to provide more food to more people as funding gets scarcer."

According to new government data, 13.3 percent of Ohioans have trouble putting food on the table, which mirrors Ohio's poverty rate of 13.4 percent.

Governor Ted Strickland is endorsing a plan to delay the 4.2 percent income-tax cut that took effect this year. Other ideas under consideration by lawmakers include cutting the pay of state workers by five percent and breaking from some federally-approved tax cuts.

The 815 million dollar budget hole was created when the Ohio Supreme Court blocked the Governor's proposal to place video lottery terminals at Ohio's seven race tracks to fund education.


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A new federal proposal to protect workers from extreme heat is being hailed as a potential lifesaver by labor advocates, even as Florida faces backlash over its heat safety rollbacks.

The proposed OSHA regulation is open for public comment until Dec. 30. It could bring long-awaited protections to millions of workers exposed to dangerous temperatures.

Micki Siegel de Hernández, national deputy director of occupational safety and health for the Communications Workers of America, said Florida recorded more than 200 heat-related worker deaths between 2010 and 2020 and she is baffled by a controversial law Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in April to block local municipalities from enacting protections for workers.

"That bill also prohibits any kind of training or posting of information. It's insane," Siegel de Hernández asserted. "It's disgusting and insane, and also blames workers in the event that they do suffer from some kind of heat-related illness."

DeSantis had sidestepped criticism of the bill by saying it did not come from him. Under the proposed OSHA rule, employers would be required to implement heat illness prevention plans, including access to water, rest breaks and shaded areas.

Siegel de Hernández noted many of Florida's workers, especially those in outdoor industries like construction and agriculture, are at risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

"All of these things are preventable and without a standard, workers will continue to die," Siegel de Hernández contended. "We need to get something passed as quickly as possible."

The OSHA rule would mark the first federal legal protections for indoor and outdoor workers exposed to extreme heat. If approved, it could go into effect as early as next year.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has recommended heat safety standards since the 1970s. But this is the first time the U.S. government has proposed comprehensive heat safety regulations applicable to most industries.


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A new study showed as Texas has emerged as a national leader in wind turbine and solar energy installations, clean energy workers often face dangerous working conditions and unequal pay.

The report from a pair of advocacy groups found few Texas job sites are unionized and workers often receive low pay and lack access to benefits like health insurance, workers' compensation and retirement plans.

Bo Delp, executive director of the Texas Climate Jobs Project, said with unions on the rise in Texas and elsewhere, clean energy job sites need to give workers a voice in determining their working conditions.

"We know unionized workplaces have fewer accidents and have less income and racial inequality," Delp pointed out. "One of the things that's needed is for policymakers and for employers to lean in to that support for collective bargaining that we're seeing across the country."

The report was produced by the Texas Climate Jobs Project and the Cornell University Climate Jobs Institute. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said while union membership is on the rise in Texas, it remains one of the least unionized states. As a so-called "right to work" state, Texans do not have to join a union to get a job.

The report found work-related injuries are common on industrial-scale work sites, including those where solar panels and wind turbines are installed.

Avalon Hoek Spaans, assistant research director for the Climate Jobs Institute at Cornell University and the study's co-author, said the research showed there were often few work rules designed to prevent injuries on job sites.

"One in four workers have experienced work-related injuries on a clean energy Texas worksite and almost half of all workers surveyed have suffered a heat-related illness," Hoek Spaans reported. "Forty-eight percent of our sample had experienced a heat-related illness, 26% an injury, and 7% saw a fatality."

The study also found rampant racial inequality on job sites, with Black workers making an average of $8,500 a year less than white workers, Spanish speakers made $5,900 less and women made $2,700 less. Workers also said employers often refuse to pay overtime.

New research shows the gender wage gap widened for the first time in two decades.

The Census Bureau found full-time working women make 82.7 cents for every dollar a man makes, down from 84 cents for every dollar in 2022.

Connecticut echoes the trend statewide, particularly in the public sector workforce.

Jamila K. Taylor, president and CEO of the Institute for Women's Policy Research, said states can enact policy solutions to address pay equity issues.

"Factoring in things like access to child care, the affordability of child care," Taylor suggested. "We know that child care is much more expensive in this country. There have been conversations nationally about price gouging and the price of groceries even though, you know, we know the economy has cooled down."

While the economy is growing stronger, she noted some sectors are still recovering from the pandemic. Child care affordability problems existed before the pandemic and were only exacerbated.

Taylor feels one way Connecticut and the nation can help close the gender wage gap is by expanding their respective child tax credits. Affording child care improves women's ability to make sufficient wages to meet their needs and those of their families.

The Census Bureau data showed minority women are earning far less. Black women working full-time make 66.5 cents for every dollar their male counterparts make. For Latina women, it's less than 60 cents for every dollar.

Taylor pointed out several challenges are preventing the gender wage gap from closing any further.

"We still need the political will to broadly support addressing the gender wage gap in this country," Taylor argued. "Better access to higher paying jobs, you know, particularly for women is important."

If the gender wage gap continued on the same slow but steady narrowing trend, all women workers would have reached pay equity with men by 2088. Pay equity between all full-time year-round workers will take over 30 years, finally coming to fruition in 2066.