A new report on working in Ohio offers a mixed picture of labor in the state.

The annual State of Working Ohio report is out for 2022 and while researchers are highlighting the strong post-pandemic job recovery, workers still face challenges.

The report shows the state has recovered 85% of the jobs lost to COVID-19, which is three times faster than the recovery from the great recession 14 years ago. While this is good news, Michael Shields - a researcher with Policy Matters Ohio and the lead author of the report - offered a word of caution.

"There is a note of caution, that depending on how aggressively they push to reduce inflation, the Federal Reserve really could reverse this job growth," said Shields. "We could even see a recession, but generally we're seeing really good recovery."

Shields said the inflation over the last two years was kicked off by the pandemic, but corporate profits now make up over 50% of cost increases.

Over the last few decades many workers in Ohio have been forced to transition out of jobs in manufacturing and into lower wage sectors. The report indicates the state has lost over 700,000 manufacturing jobs since the 1970s.

Shields pointed to a decline in union representation as a major factor keeping wages flat since the '70s. He said that while there have been productivity gains in the workplace over those same decades, corporations and the wealthy have captured nearly all of the profits from those gains.

The report shows only 13% of Ohioans belong to a union and Shields said productivity gains are not enough.

"Productivity is not enough to ensure that everyone in Ohio is able to prosper," said Shields. "Broadly shared prosperity depends on more than productivity, it also depends on bargaining power. We have to make sure that working people have a voice at the table and are able to bargain for their share of the wealth that they're creating."

The report shows the median union wage is close to $5 per hour more than non-union workers.

Another challenge Ohio workers often face is wage theft, where employers don't pay for all hours worked. The report states that misclassification of workers as contractors is one form of wage theft, but Shields said it goes further.

"Employers steal from some 213,000 Ohioans through minimum wage non-payment alone," said Shields. "Now, minimum wage non-payment is not the only form of wage theft. There are other things like not paying time and a half for overtime. Things like not paying for all hours worked. Sometimes folks will work a short-term job and just never get their last paycheck."

Shields said Ohio does not have the investigative resources to address the scale of the wage theft problem in the state.

This story was produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.

Gov. Spencer Cox has announced a statewide initiative to increase awareness of the Affordable Connectivity Program, which aims to get more Utahns connected to the internet.

The "ACP Act Now: Utah" initiative unites a number of stakeholders to close the broadband affordability gap. According to the governor's office, almost 350,000 Utah households are eligible for a federal discount on monthly internet service, but only 16% of them have enrolled.

Clint Cottam, executive director of the Community Action Partnership of Utah, said many are not aware of the program, which is part of the issue.

"About 65% of our unconnected households are actually because of affordability, not because of infrastructure," Cottam pointed out. "Now granted, there is still 35% that are infrastructure-related -- not getting enough providers and overcoming some of those planning barriers -- but really, it's cost affordability."

Cottam pointed out being able to connect to the internet is essential for work, school and health care needs, especially post-pandemic. He added the State of Utah is starting to better understand broadband access is as important as other utilities, and those left behind will be at a disadvantage.

Cottam acknowledged there is also a general distrust of government-sponsored programs for many rural and marginalized populations. He emphasized community action agencies can help establish trust to get more people enrolled.

He added not all populations in Utah have the confidence or skills to complete the online forms, and networks like his serve those communities. Cottam stressed nationally, people of color are disproportionately affected by lack of broadband connectivity.

"We want to make this a service that is integrated with other things that can help a family stabilize and realize greater economic security," Cottam asserted. "I want people to know it is OK to ask for help, and it is OK to get help."

He said the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes funding for Affordable Connectivity Program outreach, which should help groups already working with lower-income clients.

More than 40% of private sector workers in Pennsylvania earned their living at businesses without retirement plans, as of 2020. Multiple groups are now urging the General Assembly to pass legislation to change it.

A bill under consideration would establish a state-facilitated retirement savings program for private-sector workers.

Bill Johnston-Walsh, state director for AARP Pennsylvania, said the bill aims to address the retirement security gap in Pennsylvania, where more than two million workers lack a workplace retirement savings plan.

He thinks the "Keystone Saves" program outlined in the bill would be a win, both for small businesses and their employees.

"The important thing about Keystone Saves is that it is where the worker owns their own account," Johnston-Walsh explained. "It's where they can take it from job to job, so it's portable. And the bottom line is that they will be able to start saving for their retirement."

Johnston-Walsh argued a simple, voluntary payroll deduction would give more people a chance to build their own financial security. In other states, some banking and investment interests have voiced concerns it could cut into their business.

Research indicates people are 15 times more likely to save for retirement with a workplace plan. House Bill 577 passed the House in May and is now under consideration by the state Senate.

This week, AARP Pennsylvania was part of a news conference about the bill, with Sen. Art Haywood, D-Montgomery, and Rep. Kyle Mullins, D-Blakely. Johnston-Walsh added in a recent poll, up to 79% of small businesses and business owners said they'd support Keystone Saves.

"By passing this legislation, the Keystone Saves legislation, we'll be putting a secure future within everyone's reach within Pennsylvania now," Johnston-Walsh contended. "It's fair. It's right. And it's time to be able to do this and pass Keystone Saves."

He noted they have until the end of November 2024 to get the bill to the governor's desk for a signature. Eighteen states have already enacted state-facilitated payroll-deduction retirement savings, sometimes known as "Work and Save" programs.

As the summer construction season ramps up, the industry is preparing for new requirements under a pending Minnesota law change.

In recent years, Minnesota has cracked down on wage theft. But labor leaders within construction say they were still seeing too many workers being taken advantage of.

They pushed for a bill in the recent legislative session to hold owners and managers of construction sites liable, and not just a subcontractor suspected of wage theft.

Adam Duininck, director of government affairs for the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, said the provision was included in a final budget bill.

"The best part about this law, if it works really well," said Duininck, "what will happen is general (contractors) and developers won't hire those bad subcontractors to begin with - because then the general and the developer will understand that they're responsible for that."

The bill does carve out exemptions for certain single-family housing development projects, as well as contractors with collective bargaining agreements.

Some associations within the industry criticized the plan, saying it plays favorites in regard to those exemptions.

But Duininck contended that job sites with unionized contractors often don't have problems with wage theft.

The changes are scheduled to take effect August 1. In the meantime, Duininck said he hopes there's not only awareness among project leaders - but that word spreads among workers as well.

"I think that workers will hopefully feel more empowered to speak up when they are experiencing wage and hour issues," said Duininck. "A lot of the workers that we talk with on this matter come to us as immigrant workers, as workers that don't feel like they have a lot of rights to begin with."

The changes follow Minnesota's wage-theft law that was adopted in 2019.

According to the union, Minnesota joins Illinois as the only other Midwestern state to weave in specific liability language for general contractors and developers.