CLEVELAND — Leaders in Cleveland are moving toward implementing the nation’s first Universal Basic Employment (UBE) program, which would guarantee residents who work will earn at least $50,000 a year with benefits.

What You Need To Know

  • Leaders in Cleveland are moving toward implementing the nation’s first Universal Basic Employment (UBE) program, which would guarantee residents who work will earn at least $50,000 a year with benefits.

  • Step Forward, a local nonprofit with a similar mission, gives us some insight into what success could look like for UBE.

  • The nonprofit provides many wraparound services for residents - from support for children’s education to training people in financial literacy. One of the programs aims to train people in computer skills and place them in jobs with livable wages.

  • Leaders at Step Forward say getting gainful employment changes their client's lives for the better.

The goal is to break people out of generational poverty.

Step Forward, a local nonprofit with a similar mission, gave some insight into what success could look like for UBE.

“We work hard with clients to make them understand where they are in terms financially and what the next steps are going to be.,” said Kerry Austin, training manager at Step Forward.

The nonprofit provides many wraparound services for residents — from support for children’s education to training people in financial literacy. 

Cleveland has long been one of the poorest big cities in the country with a poverty rate of about 31%, according to Census Bureau data. 

Austin said many of the clients they serve don’t have access to resources to acquire and learn how to use computers, and that can be a barrier to finding employment. 

Step Forward provides programming to teach clients those skills and place them in jobs.

“One of the foundations that we established is that we are only looking for opportunities at a livable wage,” he said.

Their wage requirement fluctuates, and Austin said they will advocate to employers to pay more to their clients when needed.

“We understand the business aspect. You know, I can't pay so much an hour for me to make enough money,” he said. “And then the other side of that argument is, well, these people can't survive with so little money.”

Devin Cotten, founder of UBE, is familiar with this problem, which he believes is a systemic issue.

He is working to launch a pilot program that would give funding to local businesses to pay their workers $50,000 a year, which equates to just over $24 dollars an hour. 

Those businesses would then be required to provide those workers with benefits. 

The pilot will place 100 Clevelanders in those jobs for three years. During that time, UBE will assess the impact of earning $50,000 on the individual and the business.

Cotten believes it will make things better for everyone.

“They're paid enough to be engaged, have a high level of customer service, have a reliable means of transportation, set up their personal life infrastructure, whether that be child care or caring for elderly adults and things like that,” Cotten said. “So having those necessary resources to be able to solve those things that make them a better employee.”

Cotten said he’s heard from many people who want to work, but end up taking low-paying jobs because they fear what’s known as the “benefits cliff.”

That means if they earn too much money, they risk losing their government benefits, costing them more money in the long run. 

“We believe we've cultivated solution that, again, can solve those symptoms of poverty that show up in a business,” he said. “So, being able to stabilize a workforce so that they can come to work and are not worried about like, 'hey, if I recertify for benefits, I'm going to lose this or X, Y and Z.'”

Austin said he’s supportive of the concept, especially after seeing what gainful employment has done for his clients at Step Forward.

“I shouldn't say Jekyll Hyde, but it's almost a night and day difference between that individual,” he said. “When they come in, they're standing up straight or they're smiling. They get a little more purposeful stride and they have a little more confidence about life and their outlook on life.”

A few months ago, Cleveland City Council approved $600,000 toward the development of the UBE pilot.

The total price tag is close to $21 million dollars, which United Way is helping to raise money for.

The ultimate goal is to redirect state and federal funding from social services into UBE to expand the program if it has success after the 3-year pilot.