The corrupting influence of big money in our economic and political life surrounds us. Our public institutions have been hijacked to serve the interests of the wealthy and well connected – not the public.
The rot of big money goes far beyond elected officials. The Board of the Port of Cleveland is a perfect example of a “public” institution maximized to deliver the goods for wealthy developers. While the Port’s mission is “to spur job creation and economic vitality,” its recent actions demonstrate that the well-being of workers and residents takes a back seat to cutting lucrative deals with wealthy developers in the donor class.
The Board is not just a maritime agency but also a financing institution – and that is where corruption like the fog creeps in. One of its roles, of course, is ensuring the effective operation of our Port – one of the largest on the Great Lakes – but few are aware of the significant role it plays in financing development projects across Northern Ohio. These projects range from District 46 (the Brown’s new training facility in Berea) to Erieview Hotel to the Cleveland Clinic/Cavaliers Performance Facility to the Toledo Museum of Art.
Some of the deals financed by the Port aren’t even in our region. Most have nothing to do with maritime affairs. Instead, the Port acts as a self-described provider of “innovative financing” – which, given their current portfolio, would appear to be nothing more than a euphemism for “lining the pockets of the ultra-wealthy.”
If you need evidence of this claim, look no further than the Port Board cozying up to the Haslams and financing their new practice facility in Berea – District 46. So don’t be surprised if the Port helps finance the Haslams’ risky stadium venture in Brook Park, despite the fact that six of its nine members are appointed by the City of Cleveland and should, in theory, represent the City’s interests.
No wonder trust in public institutions such as the Port is falling.
As one of the poorest major American cities, Cleveland is a prime example of the vast chasm between rich and poor. In 2024, the median household income in Cleveland was $43,383. Most Clevelanders work for far less than the living wage for an individual ($20.93 an hour) in Cuyahoga County. Our rigged political and economic system exacerbates poverty in Cleveland. In the middle of the last century corporate America provided 31% of federal tax revenues. Today, it is less than 10%.
Given this reality, one would think that our public institutions would treat the affordability crisis for working families with the urgency of a five-alarm fire. Instead, the Port has actively undermined job quality.
For example, in 2023, the Port repealed its 100% prevailing wage policy on all third-party development projects. The prevailing wage is simply the average wage and benefits paid to similarly employed workers in an occupation in a specific geographic area. Since this change, the Port recently reported that just thirty percent of the projects it finances have continued to pay the prevailing wage. And yet, the Port somehow sees this travesty as a success because “deal flow” has increased.
The Port is now supporting 15 to 17 projects a year, up from four to five. The Board has not provided any information to quantify what this policy change means in terms of lost wages nor the multiplier effect that those lost wages would have had on consumer spending in our region. To make matters worse, the Port’s minimum wage has been stuck at $15 since 2018, with no inflation protection for the lowest paid workers on these deals.
Sadly, the Port is doubling down on failed trickle-down economics despite mountains of evidence that trickle-down policies are a primary contributor to economic inequality.
Other moves by the Board are similarly indefensible. In March, when faced with the opportunity to vote on the Board Chair, the Port doubled down on the controversial current Chair Dave Wondolowski. It’s important to note that Wondolowski has already served as Chair for a year and yet, despite his role as a prominent labor leader, has not sought to reinstate the 100% prevailing wage policy during this time.
Also concerning is the public relations role Wondolowski has been playing on behalf of the billionaire owners of the Browns. He argued in a Crain’s op-ed that $600 million in taxpayer funds would establish a renaissance of growth in the county. While a labor leader cheerleading for the billionaire class is troubling, thanks to a public forum of stadium financing experts hosted by Councilman Brian Kazy, we know that statement to be total nonsense. The fact is that over 130 peer-reviewed academic studies have shown that taxpayers always end up on the short end of the stick.
“Economic research is unequivocal,” explained The Atlantic Magazine. “Stadiums do not come close to generating enough activity to pay back the public investment involved in building them.” The economic studies did, however, reveal two clear results. The taxpayer subsidies enriched the billionaire owners while merely shifting the consumer dollars from one area to another area.
Clevelanders must ask the Port who it truly serves–the public and working people or billionaires.
The way things are going, the answer is not comforting.
Nora Kelley is a Clevelander who practices employee benefits law, and formerly served as Vice President of SEIU 775, Chief of Staff of SEIU Local 1 and Director of the DePaul University Labor Education Center.
Walt Gachuk is a Clevelander and a proud retiree of Cement Mason Local 16 (BAC) & Local 404.
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