CLEVELAND — Joseph Motley is a Northeast Ohio rap music artist who enjoys putting positive messages of faith into his original songs, and he now hopes for some positive news when it comes to Ohio's minimum wage.
Motley told News 5 he's had to take a variety of other jobs during the 20 years he's produced music to keep his music dreams alive but said Ohio's $10.10 minimum wage has made it increasingly difficult for him and a growing number of people he knows during this time of rising prices.
“It’s like they’re living check to check; it wasn’t like that maybe 5, 6, 7 years ago," Motley said. “What are the people going to do when you go to the grocery store, and the prices are rising, rent is up, to own a house is up, to get a car is up.”
Motley said he's hoping Ohio will again revisit putting a $ 15-an-hour minimum wage on the ballot sometime in 2024.
“I had about seven different jobs, but I always kept one main job," Motley said. “So $15 an hour would be a great start, and hope that when it’s time to vote for that, folks get out and go to the polls.”
Policy Matters Ohio Economist Michael Shields referenced a new analysis of federal data compiled by the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal Washington D.C.-based think tank, which indicated median Ohio wages went down from $22.60 in 2020 to $21.51 in 2022.
Shield said this has caused reduced buying power for Ohioans, which has hit key service employees like restaurant, childcare and grocery workers especially hard.
“They got us through the pandemic keeping our grocery store shelves stocked in the grocery stores, and healthcare workers, a lot of these workers are not paid a wage that recognizes the value of the work that their doing," Shields said. “I think we need a minimum wage of at least $15 dollars; I think where we are right now just does not reflect the cost of living.”
Back in 2016, Cleveland City Council rejected a $15 an hour minimum wage because it believed the wage hike would significantly hurt small business owners, who are now, several years later, struggling to find enough workers during the pandemic recovery.
The analysis also indicated Ohio is just one of three states where one in six workers is making below $15 an hour. Ohio is set to increase its minimum wage to $10.45 at the beginning of 2024, but Shield believes that's not nearly enough for the typical Ohio worker to meet rising prices for nearly everything.
"If the wage is falling short of that, then we’ve got a problem; it’s an economic problem that’s not sustainable," Shields said. “Working people have been more productive than ever before and have produced more wealth for the state and their employers than ever before, but wages have been close to flat.”
Meanwhile, Motley is part of the Black on Black Crime Incorporated Hip Hop Workshop, which will host its next classroom session on Saturday, Oct. 7, from 1:45 until 6 p.m. at The Cleveland State University main building, room 136. A follow-up class is scheduled for Nov. 4.
Motley produces music through his company Black House Sound and has his own YouTube channel.
