Easy being green - Find out how workers and unions can train for and support jobs in the green energy economy, how to ensure that the jobs are high skill and high wage, and how to help your workplace be more environmentally efficient. Policy Matters Ohio, the North Shore Federation of Labor, the Center on Wisconsin Strategy and the Ohio Apollo Alliance cosponsor the Midwest Conference on Labor in the New Energy Economy, October 22nd & 23rd in Cleveland. Register here; get sponsorship information here; view workshops here.

Home Insecurity - Our report, Foreclosure Growth in Ohio 2007 contributed to a storm of activity and conversation about Ohio's foreclosure crisis.  A new release explores how the crisis is affecting Ohio's most populous and foreclosure-ridden county.  Foreclosures in Cuyahoga County Communities shows foreclosures spreading to suburban towns.  Read about the issue in last Sunday's New York Times, and see how your city ranks relative to other Cuyahoga County municipalities here.

The chasm widens - The State of Working Ohio 2007, released for Labor Day weekend, finds staggering increases in income inequality in Ohio, with the richest one percent of households earning more than $986,000 last year, 26 times what middle-income Ohio families earned in 2006. Hourly wages have not grown in the past generation, despite an increase in working hours, education and hourly output. Women are in the workplace more than ever, and the gender wage gap is slowly shrinking, but the wage gap between black workers and white workers is larger than a generation ago. The State of Working Ohio 2007 concludes that Ohio must invest in the future, create more opportunity, generate on-ramps to the middle class, protect and build workers' assets, and retain strong public structures, if we are to have a more broadly shared prosperity in Ohio.

Trade Adjustment Assistance – More than 5,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in Ohio due to international trade in just the last seven months. As Congress prepares to debate re-authorizing the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which protects some American workers whose jobs are lost because of trade, Policy Matters maps these job losses in Ohio. The program, which has worked well for some manufacturing workers, should be expanded to cover service sector workers. Read the findings and other recommendations here.

Job Watch - Ohio has shown virtually no job growth over the last two years. Almost 172,000 jobs have left the state since January of 2001. The disappointing numbers speak for themselves here.

1. How much did the richest one percent of Ohio households earn last year?
2. To what kind of workers should Congress extend trade adjustment assistance?
3. Where is the best place to learn about labor and the new energy economy?

Click here for the answers.

-The Policy Matters team: Amy, Zach, Jon, Pam, David, Kahlil and Amanda

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